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Bratislava

February 16, 2024

For the region, see Bratislava Region.

Bratislava (/ˌbrætɪˈslɑːvə/ BRAT-iss-LAH-və, US also /ˌbrɑːt-/ BRAHT-,[3][4] Slovak: [ˈbracislaʋa] ⓘ; Hungarian: Pozsony [ˈpoʒoɲ] ⓘ), historically known as Preßburg (Pressburg) (German pronunciation: [ˈpʁɛsˌbʊʁk] ⓘ), is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000—approximately 140% of the official figures.[5] Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital to border two sovereign states.[6]

Bratislava
Capital city
Clockwise from top: View of Bratislava; Financial district; Old Town streets; Grassalkovich Palace; Blue Church; View of Old Town
Flag
Coat of arms
Wordmark
Nicknames: 
Beauty on the Danube, Little Big City, Blava
Bratislava
Location of Bratislava in Slovakia
Bratislava
Bratislava (Bratislava Region)
Bratislava
Bratislava (Europe)
Coordinates: 48°08′38″N 17°06′35″E / 48.14389°N 17.10972°E / 48.14389; 17.10972
Country Slovakia
Region Bratislava
First mentioned907
Government
 • MayorMatúš Vallo
Area
 • Capital city367.584 km2 (141.925 sq mi)
 • Urban
853.15 km2 (329.40 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,053 km2 (792.66 sq mi)
Elevation
134 m (440 ft)
Population
 (2021[1])
 • Metro
719,537
 • Capital city census
475,503
 • Capital city estimate
660,000
 • Capital city estimate density1,812/km2 (4,690/sq mi)
Demonyms
  • Bratislavčan (m), Bratislavčanka (f) (sk),
  • Bratislavan (en),
  • pozsonyi (hu),
  • Preßburger (de)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
8XX XX
Area code421 2
Car plateBA, BL, BT
Gross metropolitan product[2]2021
 – Total€28 billion
(US$33B)
 – Per capita€38,900
(US$46,007)
Websitebratislava.sk

The city's history has been influenced by people of many nations and religions, including Austrians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews and Slovaks.[7] It was the coronation site and legislative center and capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1563 to 1783;[8] eleven Hungarian kings and eight queens were crowned in St Martin's Cathedral. Most Hungarian parliament assemblies were held here from the 17th century until the Hungarian Reform Era, and the city has been home to many Hungarian, German and Slovak historical figures.

Today Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic centre of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak president, the parliament and the Slovak Executive. It has several universities, and many museums, theatres, galleries and other cultural and educational institutions.[9] Many of Slovakia's large businesses and financial institutions have headquarters there.

GDP at purchasing power parity is about three times higher than in other Slovak regions.[10][11] Bratislava receives around one million tourists every year, mostly from the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria.[12]

Etymology edit

The city received its contemporary name on 16 March 1919.[13] Until then, it was mostly known in English as "Pressburg" (from its German name, Preßburg), since after 1526, it was dominated mostly by the Habsburg monarchy and the city had a relevant ethnic German population. That is the term from which the pre-1919 Slovak (Prešporok) and Czech (Prešpurk) names are derived.[14]

The linguist Ján Stanislav believed the city's Hungarian name, Pozsony, to be attributed to the surname Božan, likely a prince who owned the castle before 950. Although the Latin name was also based on the same surname, according to research by the lexicologist Milan Majtán, the Hungarian version is not found in any official records from the time in which the prince would have lived. All three versions, however, were related to those found in Slovak, Czech and German: Vratislaburgum (905), Braslavespurch and Preslavasburc (both 907).[15]

The medieval settlement Brezalauspurc (literally Braslav's castle) is sometimes attributed to Bratislava, but the actual location of Brezalauspurc is under scholarly debate. The city's modern name is credited to Pavol Jozef Šafárik's misinterpretation of Braslav as Bratislav in his analysis of medieval sources, which led him to invent the term Břetislaw, which later became Bratislav.[16]

During the revolution of 1918–1919, the name 'Wilsonov' or 'Wilsonstadt' (after US President Woodrow Wilson) was proposed by American Slovaks, as he supported national self-determination. The name Bratislava, which had been used only by some Slovak patriots, became official in March 1919 with the aim that a Slavic name could support demands for the city to be part of Czechoslovakia.[17]

Other alternative names of the city in the past include Greek: Ιστρόπολις, romanized: Istropolis (meaning "Danube City", also used in Latin), Latin: Posonium, Romanian: Pojon, Croatian: Požun.

In older documents, confusion can be caused by the Latin forms Bratislavia, Wratislavia etc., which refer to Wrocław, Poland, not Bratislava. The Polish city has a similar etymology despite spelling differences.[18]

History edit

Main article: History of Bratislava
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Bratislava.
 
Biatec, presumably a king, who appeared on the Celtic coins minted by the Boii at the current location of Bratislava, 1st century B.C.

The first known permanent settlement of the area began with the Linear Pottery Culture, around 5000 B.C. in the Neolithic era. About 200 B.C., the Celtic Boii tribe founded the first significant settlement, a fortified town known as an oppidum. They also established a mint, producing gold and silver coins known as biatecs.[19]

 
Gerulata, a Roman Empire military camp, built in the 2nd century A.D. at the current location of Bratislava

The area fell under Roman influence from the 1st to the 4th century A.D. and was made part of the Danubian Limes, a border defence system.[20] The Romans introduced grape growing to the area and began a tradition of winemaking, which survives to the present.[21]

The Slavs arrived from the East between the 5th and 6th centuries during the Migration Period.[22] As a response to onslaughts by Avars, the local Slavic tribes rebelled and established Samo's Empire (623–658), the first known Slavic political entity. In the 9th century, the castles at Bratislava (Brezalauspurk) and Devín (Dowina) were important centres of the Slavic states: the Principality of Nitra and Great Moravia.[23] Scholars have debated the identification as fortresses of the two castles built in Great Moravia, based on linguistic arguments and because of the absence of convincing archaeological evidence.[24][25]

 
Battle of Bratislava in 907

The first written reference to a settlement named "Brezalauspurc" dates to 907 and is related to the Battle of Pressburg, during which a Bavarian army was defeated by the Hungarians. It is connected to the fall of Great Moravia, already weakened by its own inner decline[26] and under the attacks of the Hungarians.[27] The exact location of the battle remains unknown, and some interpretations place it west of Lake Balaton.[28]

 
The earliest known depiction of Pressburg Castle (Chronicon Pictum, 1358)
 
Pressburg (Bratislava) in 1588

In the 10th century, the territory of Pressburg (what would later become Pozsony county) became part of Hungary (called the "Kingdom of Hungary" from 1000). It developed as a key economic and administrative centre on the kingdom's frontier.[29] In 1052, German Emperor Henry III undertook a fifth campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary, and besieged Pressburg without success, as the Hungarians sank his supply ships on the Danube river. This strategic position destined the city to be the site of frequent attacks and battles, but also brought it economic development and high political status. It was granted its first known "town privileges" in 1291 by the Hungarian King Andrew III,[30] and was declared a free royal town in 1405 by King Sigismund. In 1436 he authorized the town to use its own coat of arms.[31]

The Kingdom of Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Mohács in 1526. The Ottomans besieged and damaged Pressburg, but failed to conquer it.[32] Owing to Ottoman advances into Hungarian territory, the city was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536, after becoming part of the Habsburg monarchy and marking the beginning of a new era. The city became a coronation town and the seat of kings, archbishops (1543), the nobility and all major organisations and offices. Between 1536 and 1830, eleven Hungarian kings and queens were crowned at St. Martin's Cathedral.[33]

The 17th century was marked by anti-Habsburg uprisings, fighting with the Ottomans, floods, plagues and other disasters, which diminished the population.[34] Great epidemics were spreading in Bratislava in 1541-1542, 1552-1553, 1660-1665 and 1678-1681. A terrible outbreak of 1678-1681 left approximately 11.000 casualties among Bratislava’s residents (city population was in that time around 30,000 people). The last plague outbreak of Bratislava was between the years 1712-1713[35]

 
The Plague Column built in 1713
 
Coronation of Maria Theresa in 1741
 
Maria Theresa's ride in Bratislava, 1747

Pressburg flourished during the 18th-century reign of Queen Maria Theresa,[36] becoming the largest and most important town in the Kingdom of Hungary.[37] The population tripled; many new palaces,[36] monasteries, mansions, and streets were built, and the city was the centre of social and cultural life of the region.[38] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert in 1762 in the Pálffy Palace. Joseph Haydn performed in 1784 in the Grassalkovich Palace. Ludwig van Beethoven was a guest in 1796 in the Keglevich Palace.[39][40]

The city started to lose its importance under the reign of Maria Theresa's son Joseph II,[36] especially after the crown jewels were taken to Vienna in 1783 in an attempt to strengthen the relations between Austria and Hungary. Many central offices subsequently moved to Buda, followed by a large segment of the nobility.[41] The first newspapers in Hungarian and Slovak were published here: Magyar hírmondó in 1780, and Presspurske Nowiny in 1783.[42] In the course of the 18th century, the city became a centre for the Slovak national movement.

 
Devín Castle, in 1809 Napoleon Bonaparte's French army blew up the castle
 
In 1811, a huge fire raged through Bratislava Castle, destroyed the main palace and more than 70 nearby houses
 
Pressburg (Bratislava) in the 19th century

The city's 19th-century history was closely tied to the major events in Europe. The Peace of Pressburg between Austrian Empire and French Empire was signed here in 1805.[43] Devín Castle was ruined by Napoleon's French troops during an invasion of 1809.[44] In 1825 the Hungarian National Learned Society (the present Hungarian Academy of Sciences) was founded in Pressburg using a donation from István Széchenyi. In 1843 Hungarian was proclaimed the official language in legislation, public administration, and education by the Diet in the city.[45]

As a reaction to the Revolutions of 1848, Ferdinand V signed the so-called April laws, which included the abolition of serfdom, at the Primate's Palace.[46] The city chose the revolutionary Hungarian side, but was captured by the Austrians in December 1848.[47]

Industry developed rapidly in the 19th century. The first horse-drawn railway in the Kingdom of Hungary,[48] from Pressburg to Szentgyörgy (Svätý Jur), was built in 1840.[49] A new line to Vienna using steam locomotives was opened in 1848, and a line to Pest in 1850.[50] Many new industrial, financial and other institutions were founded; for example, the first bank in present-day Slovakia was founded in 1842.[51] The city's first permanent bridge over the Danube, Starý most (Old Bridge), was built in 1891.[52] Between the years 1867-1918, the territory of Pressburg became part of Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Before World War I, the city had a population that was 42% German, 41% Hungarian and 15% Slovak (1910 census). The first post war census in 1919 declared the city's ethnic composition at 36% German, 33% Slovak and 29% Hungarian but this may have reflected changing self-identification, rather than an exchange of peoples. Many people were bi- or trilingual and multicultural.

After World War I, began dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the new Czechoslovak state. In a blatant attempt to appeal to the Allies, American Slovaks proposed rename the city “Wilsonovo mesto” (Wilson City), after Woodrow Wilson.[53]

 
Pressburg (Bratislava) in 1915 during World War I
 
Czechoslovak Legion at the Old Bridge (Starý most) in Bratislava during Hungarian–Czechoslovak War, 1919

On 28 October 1918, Czechoslovakia was proclaimed, but its borders were not settled for several months.[54] The dominant Hungarian and German population tried to prevent annexation of the city to Czechoslovakia and declared it a free city,[55] while the Hungarian Prime Minister Károlyi protested against the Czech invasion. The Slovak National Assembly meanwhile called it a "defensive action of the Slovaks themselves, to end the anarchy caused by the flight of the Hungarians."[56] The Allies of World War I drew a provisional demarcation line, this was revealed to the Hungarian government on December 23, in the document known as the Vix Note. The Czechoslovak Legion arrived from Italy, began to advance on 30 December and by 2 January 1919, all important civil and military buildings were in Czechoslovak hands.[57] It was the beginning of the conflict, which later continued as Hungarian–Czechoslovak War. The city became the seat of Slovakia's political organs and organizations and became Slovakia's capital on 4 February.[58]

On March 27, 1919, the name Bratislava was officially adopted for the first time to replace the previous Slovak name Prešporok.[59]

At the beginning of August 1919, Czechoslovakia got permission to correct the borders for the strategic reasons, mainly to secure the port and to prevent a potential attack of the Hungarian Army on the town. On the night of 14 August 1919 barefoot Czechoslovak soldiers silently climbed to the Hungarian side of the Starý most (Old Bridge), captured the guards and annexed Petržalka (currently part of Bratislava's 5th district) without a fight.[60] The Paris Peace Conference assigned the area to Czechoslovakia with the aim of creating a bridgehead for the newly created Czechoslovak state for controlling the Danube.

Left without any protection after the retreat of the Hungarian army, many Hungarians were expelled or fled.[61] Czechs and Slovaks moved their households to Bratislava. Education in Hungarian and German was radically reduced in the city.[62] By the 1930 Czechoslovak census, the Hungarian population of Bratislava had decreased to 15.8% (see the Demographics of Bratislava article for more details).

 
German Führer Adolf Hitler on his visit to Bratislava after Munich Betrayal, October 1938
 
Bratislava was bombarded by the United States Army Air Forces, during the Nazi Occupation in 1944

In 1938, Nazi Germany annexed neighbouring Austria in the Anschluss; on 10 October 1938 on the basis of the Munich agreement it also annexed (still-separate from Bratislava) Petržalka and Devín boroughs on ethnic grounds, as these had many ethnic Germans.[63][64] Petržalka was renamed Engerau. The Starý most (Old Bridge) becomes a border bridge between the Czechoslovakia and Nazi Germany.

Bratislava was declared the capital of the first independent Slovak Republic on March 14, 1939, but the new state quickly fell under Nazi influence. In 1941–1942 and 1944–1945, the new Slovak government cooperated in deporting most of Bratislava's approximately 15,000 Jews;[65] they were transported to concentration camps, where most were killed or died before the end of the war in the Holocaust.[66]

Bratislava, occupied by German troops, was many times bombarded by the Allies. Major air raid included the bombing of Bratislava and its refinery Apollo on June 16, 1944 by American B-24 bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force with 181 victims[67] On 4 April 1945, Bratislava was taken by troops of the Soviet Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front during Bratislava–Brno offensive.[63][68] At the end of World War II, most of Bratislava's ethnic Germans were evacuated by the German authorities. A few returned after the war, but were soon expelled without their properties under the Beneš decrees,[69] part of a widespread expulsion of ethnic Germans from eastern Europe.

After World War II, Slovak Republic lost its so-called independence and was reunified again with the Czech Republic as Czechoslovak Republic, Petržalka (currently part of Bratislava's 5th district) and Devín (currently part of Bratislava's 4th district) was returned to Czechoslovakia. Furthermore, after signing the Peace Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1947, three Hungarian villages, namely Horvátjárfalu (Jarovce), Oroszvár (Rusovce), and Dunacsún (Čunovo) situated south of Bratislava were transferred to Czechoslovakia, in order to form the so-called "Bratislava bridgehead" (currently all three of them are part of Bratislava's 5th district).

 
Soviet tank in Bratislava during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968
 
Iron Curtain memorial in Bratislava, 400 people were killed trying to cross the border into the West during the communist era

After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the city became part of the Eastern Bloc. The city annexed new land, and the population rose significantly, becoming 90% Slovak.

Large residential areas consisting of high-rise prefabricated panel buildings, such as those in the Petržalka or Dúbravka borough, were built. The Communist government also built several new grandiose buildings, such as the Slovak Radio Building, Slavín or Kamzík TV Tower. A quarter of Bratislava’s Old Town was demolished in the late 1960s for a single project: the bridge of the Slovak National Uprising. To make space for this development, much of the city’s centuries-old, historical Jewish quarter was razed, including the 19th-century Moorish-styled Neolog Synagogue.[70]

In 1968, after the unsuccessful Czechoslovak attempt to liberalise the Communist regime, the city was occupied by Warsaw Pact troops. Shortly thereafter, it became capital of the Slovak Socialist Republic, one of the two states of the federalized Czechoslovakia.

Bratislava's dissidents anticipated the fall of Communism with the Bratislava candle demonstration in 1988, and the city became one of the foremost centres of the anti-Communist Velvet Revolution in 1989.[71]

The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic renamed as Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, the word "socialist" was dropped in the names of the two republics within the federation, the Slovak Socialist Republic renamed as Slovak Republic.

In 1993, Bratislava became second time the capital of the newly formed independent Slovak Republic, following the Velvet Divorce.[72]

Geography edit

Main article: Geography of Bratislava
 
Map of Bratislava
 
Satellite view of Bratislava

Bratislava is situated in southwestern Slovakia, within the Bratislava Region. Its location on the borders with Austria and Hungary makes it the only national capital that borders two countries. It is only 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) from the border with Hungary and only 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) from the Austrian capital Vienna.[73]

The city has a total area of 367.58 square kilometres (141.9 sq mi), making it the second-largest city in Slovakia by area (after the township of Vysoké Tatry).[74] Bratislava straddles the Danube River, along which it had developed and for centuries the chief transportation route to other areas. The river passes through the city from the west to the southeast. The Middle Danube basin begins at Devín Gate in western Bratislava. Other rivers are the Morava River, which forms the northwestern border of the city and enters the Danube at Devín, the Little Danube, and the Vydrica, which enters the Danube in the borough of Karlova Ves.

The Carpathian mountain range begins in city territory with the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty). The Záhorie and Danubian lowlands stretch into Bratislava. The city's lowest point is at the Danube's surface at 126 metres (413 ft) above mean sea level, and the highest point is Devínska Kobyla at 514 metres (1,686 ft). The average altitude is 140 metres (460 ft).[75]

Climate edit

Bratislava has recently shifted into the humid subtropical climate under Köppen–Geiger climate classification (Cfa), and is classified as temperate oceanic climate under Trewartha climate classification (DOak), It is in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7b[76] with a mean annual temperature of around 11.1 °C (52.0 °F), an average temperature of 22.0 °C (71.6 °F) in the warmest month and 0.3 °C (32.5 °F) in the coldest month, four distinct seasons[77] and precipitation spread rather evenly throughout the year. It is often windy with a marked variation between hot summers and cold, humid winters. There also can sometimes be a significant difference in weather, between the parts of the city. Bratislava, just like any other city, has an urban heat island effect, but there is no weather station directly in the urban core, so the temperature there can be slightly higher than the official weather station reports. The city is in one of the warmest and driest parts of Slovakia.[78]

Recently, the transitions from winter to summer and summer to winter have been rapid, with short autumn and spring periods. Snow occurs less frequently than previously.[77] Extreme temperatures (1981–2013) – record high: 39.4 °C (102.9 °F),[79] record low: −24.6 °C (−12.3 °F). Some areas, particularly Devín and Devínska Nová Ves, are vulnerable to floods from the Danube and Morava rivers.[80] New flood protection has been built on both banks.[81]

Climate data for Bratislava Airport (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 19.8
(67.6) 		19.7
(67.5) 		25.0
(77.0) 		30.3
(86.5) 		33.4
(92.1) 		36.3
(97.3) 		38.2
(100.8) 		39.4
(102.9) 		34.0
(93.2) 		28.0
(82.4) 		21.6
(70.9) 		17.9
(64.2) 		39.4
(102.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6) 		5.8
(42.4) 		11.1
(52.0) 		17.5
(63.5) 		21.7
(71.1) 		25.6
(78.1) 		28.0
(82.4) 		27.9
(82.2) 		21.9
(71.4) 		15.6
(60.1) 		9.3
(48.7) 		3.7
(38.7) 		15.9
(60.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5) 		1.9
(35.4) 		6.1
(43.0) 		11.7
(53.1) 		16.2
(61.2) 		20.2
(68.4) 		22.0
(71.6) 		21.5
(70.7) 		16.2
(61.2) 		10.7
(51.3) 		5.7
(42.3) 		1.1
(34.0) 		11.1
(52.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −2.8
(27.0) 		−1.7
(28.9) 		1.7
(35.1) 		5.7
(42.3) 		10.6
(51.1) 		14.2
(57.6) 		16.2
(61.2) 		15.9
(60.6) 		11.2
(52.2) 		6.3
(43.3) 		2.6
(36.7) 		−1.5
(29.3) 		6.5
(43.7)
Record low °C (°F) −24.6
(−12.3) 		−24.6
(−12.3) 		−16.4
(2.5) 		−5.0
(23.0) 		−1.6
(29.1) 		2.7
(36.9) 		4.4
(39.9) 		4.8
(40.6) 		−1.7
(28.9) 		−7.6
(18.3) 		−12.5
(9.5) 		−20.3
(−4.5) 		−24.6
(−12.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 37.4
(1.47) 		32.9
(1.30) 		36.8
(1.45) 		35.9
(1.41) 		58.6
(2.31) 		59.2
(2.33) 		61.8
(2.43) 		60.5
(2.38) 		58.6
(2.31) 		43.6
(1.72) 		46.2
(1.82) 		42.7
(1.68) 		574.3
(22.61)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 13.2 11.4 11.7 9.2 11.3 10.9 11.5 10.0 9.6 11.2 12.5 13.6 136.1
Average snowy days 11.2 8.7 5.8 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 4.1 8.6 39.8
Average relative humidity (%) 80.9 74.7 67.5 61.0 62.8 62.0 60.5 62.3 69.2 76.8 81.9 83.2 70.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 65.5 99.3 153.7 218.6 258.1 269.4 286.5 273.3 194.5 134.6 69.5 51.9 2,074.9
Source 1: World Meteorological Organisation[82][83]
Source 2: SHMI (extremes, 1951-present)[84]

Location edit

Cityscape and architecture edit

See also: List of palaces in Bratislava
 
Hviezdoslav Square
 
Main Square

The cityscape of Bratislava is characterized by medieval towers and grandiose 20th-century buildings, but it underwent profound changes in a construction boom at the start of the 21st century.[85]

Most historical buildings are concentrated in the Old Town. Bratislava's Town Hall is a complex of three buildings erected in the 14th–15th centuries and now hosts the Bratislava City Museum. Michael's Gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications, and it ranks among the oldest of the town's buildings;[86] the narrowest house in Europe is nearby.[87] The University Library building, erected in 1756, was used by the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1802 to 1848.[88] Much of the significant legislation of the Hungarian Reform Era (such as the abolition of serfdom and the foundation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) was enacted there.[88]

The historic centre is characterized by many baroque palaces. The Grassalkovich Palace, built around 1760, is now the residence of the Slovak president, and the Slovak government now has its seat in the former Archiepiscopal Palace.[89] In 1805, diplomats of emperors Napoleon and Francis II signed the fourth Peace of Pressburg in the Primate's Palace, after Napoleon's victory in the Battle of Austerlitz.[90] Some smaller houses are historically significant; composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in an 18th-century house in the Old Town.

 
St. Martin's Cathedral
 
Church of St. Elisabeth

Notable cathedrals and churches include the Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral built in the 13th–16th centuries, which served as the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830.[91] The Franciscan Church, dating to the 13th century, has been a place of knighting ceremonies and is the oldest preserved sacral building in the city.[92] The Church of St. Elizabeth, better known as the Blue Church due to its colour, is built entirely in the Hungarian Secessionist style. Bratislava has one surviving functioning synagogue, out of the three major ones existing before the holocaust.

A curiosity is the underground (formerly ground-level) restored portion of the Jewish cemetery where 19th-century Rabbi Moses Sofer is buried, located at the base of the castle hill near the entrance to a tram tunnel.[93] The only military cemetery in Bratislava is Slavín, unveiled in 1960 in honour of Soviet Army soldiers who fell during the liberation of Bratislava in April 1945. It offers a view of the city and the Little Carpathians.[94][95]

Other prominent 20th-century structures include the Most Slovenského národného povstania (Bridge of the Slovak national uprising) across the Danube featuring a UFO-like tower restaurant, Slovak Radio's inverted-pyramid-shaped headquarters, and the uniquely designed Kamzík TV Tower with an observation deck and rotating restaurant. In the early 21st century, new edifices have transformed the traditional cityscape. At the beginning of the 21st century, a construction boom has spawned new public structures,[96] such as the Most Apollo and a new building of the Slovak National Theatre,[97] as well as private real-estate development.[98]

Bratislava Castle edit

Main article: Bratislava Castle
 
Bratislava Castle

One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle (Bratislavský hrad), situated on a plateau 85 metres (279 ft) above the Danube. The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transitional period between the Stone and Bronze ages[99] and has been the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman limes Romanus, a huge Slavic fortified settlement, and a political, military and religious centre for Great Moravia.[100] A stone castle was not constructed until the 10th century, when the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, however, in the 9th century a pre-romanesque stone basilica, was standing in the area of the hillfort.

The castle was converted into a Gothic anti-Hussite fortress under Sigismund of Luxemburg in 1430, became a Renaissance castle in 1562,[101] and was rebuilt in 1649 in the baroque style. Under Queen Maria Theresa, the castle became a prestigious royal seat. In 1811, the castle was inadvertently destroyed by fire and lay in ruins until the 1950s,[102] when it was rebuilt mostly in its former Theresian style. In the 1940s, it was planned to demolish the castle ruins and replace them with a new university complex. However, it was never realised, and in the 1960s, reconstruction began. Nowadays, it serves ceremonial purposes and as a historical museum of the Slovak National Museum.

Devín Castle edit

Main article: Devín Castle
 
Ruins of Devín Castle, first written reference to the Devin Castle dates back to 864.[103]
 
View from Devín Castle

The ruined and recently renovated Devín Castle is in the borough of Devín, on top of a rock where the Morava River, which forms the border between Austria and Slovakia, enters the Danube. It is one of the most important Slovak archaeological sites and contains a museum dedicated to its history.[104] Due to its strategic location, Devín Castle was a very important frontier castle of Great Moravia and the early Hungarian state. It was destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1809. It is an important symbol of Slovak and Slavic history.[105]

Rusovce edit

Rusovce mansion, with its English park, is in the Rusovce borough. The house was originally built in the 17th century and was turned into an English neo-Gothic-style mansion in 1841–1844.[106] The borough is also known for the ruins of the Roman military camp Gerulata, part of limes Romanus, a border defence system. Gerulata was built and used between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.[107]

Parks and lakes edit

Further information: Parks and gardens in Bratislava
 
Kuchajda lake

Due to its location in the foothills of the Little Carpathians and its riparian vegetation on the Danubian floodplains, Bratislava has forests close to the city centre. The total amount of public green space is 46.8 square kilometres (18.1 sq mi), or 110 square metres (1,200 sq ft) per inhabitant.[108] The largest city park is Horský park (literally, Mountainous Park), in the Old Town. Bratislavský lesný park (Bratislava Forest Park) is located in the Little Carpathians and includes many locales popular among visitors, such as Železná studienka and Koliba. The Forest Park covers an area of 27.3 square kilometres (10.5 sq mi), of which 96% is forested mostly with oak and mixed oak/hornbeam forest, and contains original flora and fauna such as European badgers, red foxes, wild boar and red and roe deer. On the right bank of the Danube, in the borough of Petržalka, is Janko Kráľ Park founded in 1774–76.[109] A new city park is planned for Petržalka between the Malý Draždiak and Veľký Draždiak lakes.[98]

Bratislava's zoological park is located in Mlynská dolina, near the headquarters of Slovak Television. The zoo, founded in 1960, currently houses 152 species of animals, including the rare white lion and white tiger. The Botanical Gardens, which belong to Comenius University, can be found on the Danube riverfront and house more than 120 species of domestic and foreign origin.[110]

The city has a number of natural and human-made lakes, most of which are used for recreation. Examples include Štrkovec lake in Ružinov, Kuchajda in Nové Mesto, Zlaté Piesky and the Vajnory lakes in the north-east, and Rusovce lake in the south, which is popular with nudists.[111]

Demographics edit

Main article: Demographics of Bratislava
 
High-rise apartments in Bratislava
2021 census results[112]
District Population Ethnic group Population
Bratislava I–V 475,577 Slovaks 407,358
Bratislava I 46,432 Hungarians 11,167
Bratislava II 112,001 Czechs 5,031
Bratislava III 76,694 Ukrainians 1524
Bratislava IV 105,154 Germans 750
Bratislava V 122,296 Other/undeclared 47,239

From the city's origin until the 19th century, Germans were the dominant ethnic group.[14] By the end of World War I, 42% of the population of Pressburg spoke German as their native language, 40% Hungarian, and 15% Slovak.[14]

After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, Bratislava remained a multi-ethnic city, but with a different demographic trend. Due to Slovakization,[113][114] the proportion of Slovaks and Czechs increased in the city, while the proportion of Germans and Hungarians fell. In 1938, 59% of the population were Slovaks or Czechs, while Germans represented 22% and Hungarians 13% of the city's population.[115] The creation of the first Slovak Republic in 1939 brought other changes, most notably the expulsion of many Czechs and the deportation or flight of the Jews during the Holocaust.[14][116] In 1945, most of the Germans were evacuated. After the restoration of Czechoslovakia, the Beneš decrees (partly revoked in 1948) collectively punished ethnic German and Hungarian minorities by expropriation and deportation to Germany, Austria, and Hungary for their alleged collaborationism with Nazi Germany and Hungary against Czechoslovakia.[66][117][118]

The city thereby obtained its clearly Slovak character.[66] Hundreds of citizens were expelled during the communist oppression of the 1950s, with the aim of replacing "reactionary" people with the proletarian class.[14][66] Since the 1950s, the Slovaks have been the dominant ethnicity in the town, making up around 90% of the city's population.[14]

Politics edit

See also: Mayor of Bratislava, Boroughs and localities of Bratislava, and International relations of Bratislava
 
Grassalkovich Palace, seat of the president of Slovakia

Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak parliament, presidency, ministries, supreme court (Slovak: Najvyšší súd), and central bank. It is the seat of the Bratislava Region and, since 2002, also of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region. The city also has many foreign embassies and consulates.

 
The building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic

The current local government (Mestská samospráva)[119] structure has been in place since 1990.[120] It is composed of a mayor (primátor),[121] a city board (Mestská rada),[122] a city council (Mestské zastupiteľstvo),[123] city commissions (Komisie mestského zastupiteľstva),[124] and a city magistrate's office (Magistrát).[125]

 
Episcopal Summer Palace, the seat of the government of Slovakia

The mayor, based at the Primate's Palace, is the city's top executive officer and is elected to a four-year term of office. The current mayor of Bratislava is Matúš Vallo, who won the election held on October 29, 2022, as an independent candidate. The city council is the city's legislative body, responsible for issues such as budget, local ordinances, city planning, road maintenance, education, and culture.[126]

City Council edit

The Bratislava City Council is the legislature of the City of Bratislava. It has 45 members. The Council usually convenes once a month and consists of 45 members elected to four-year terms concurrent with the mayor's. Many of the council's executive functions are carried out by the city commission at the council's direction.[124] The city board is a 28-member body composed of the mayor and his deputies, the borough mayors, and up to ten city council members. The board is an executive and supervisory arm of the city council and also serves in an advisory role to the mayor.[122]

Administration edit

Administratively, Bratislava is divided into five districts: Bratislava I (the city centre), Bratislava II (eastern parts), Bratislava III (north-eastern parts), Bratislava IV (western and northern parts) and Bratislava V (southern parts on the right bank of the Danube, including Petržalka, the most densely populated residential area in Central Europe).[127]

 
Primate's Palace at Primate's Square, the seat of the city's mayor

For self-governance purposes, the city is divided into 17 boroughs, each of which has its own mayor (starosta) and council. The number of councillors in each depends on the size and population of the borough.[128] Each of the boroughs coincides with the city's 20 cadastral areas, except for two cases: Nové Mesto is further divided into the Nové Mesto and Vinohrady cadastral areas and Ružinov is divided into Ružinov, Nivy and Trnávka. Further unofficial division recognizes additional quarters and localities.

Economy edit

Main article: Economy of Bratislava
See also: List of tallest buildings in Bratislava
 
National Bank of Slovakia

The Bratislava Region is the wealthiest and most economically prosperous region in Slovakia, despite being the smallest by area and having the third smallest population of the eight Slovak regions. It accounts for about 26% of the Slovak GDP.[129] According to GDP per capita, Bratislava is the 19th-richest region in the European Union in 2023.[130] The unemployment rate in Bratislava was 2,38% in June 2023.[131] The average monthly salary in the Bratislava region in 2023 was €1 983.[132]

 
Eurovea Tower, the tallest building in Slovakia

Many governmental institutions and private companies have their headquarters in Bratislava. More than 75% of Bratislava's population works in the service sector, mainly composed of trade, banking, IT, telecommunications, and tourism.[133] The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSSE), the organiser of the public securities market, was founded on 15 March 1991.[134]

Companies operating predominantly in Bratislava with the highest value added according to the 2018 Trend Top 200 ranking, include the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant, Slovnaft refinery (MOL), Eset (software developer), Asseco (software company), PPC Power (producer of heat and steam) and Trenkwalder personnel agency.[135]

Volkswagen Group took over and expanded the BAZ factory in 1991, and has since considerably expanded production beyond original Skoda Auto models.[136] Currently,[timeframe?] 68% of production is focused on SUVs: Audi Q7; VW Touareg; as well as the body and under-chassis of the Porsche Cayenne. Since 2012, production has also included the Volkswagen up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo.[137]

In recent years, service and high-tech-oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava. Many global companies, including IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AT&T, SAP, Amazon, Johnson Controls, Swiss Re and Accenture, have built outsourcing and service centres here.[138] Reasons for the influx of multi-national corporations include proximity to Western Europe, skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities.[139] Also Slovak IT companies including ESET, Sygic and Pixel Federation have headquarters in Bratislava.

 
High-rise buildings in Bratislava's business districts

Other large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include Slovak Telekom, Orange Slovensko, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Tatra banka, Doprastav, Hewlett-Packard Slovakia, Slovnaft, Henkel Slovensko,[140] Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, Kraft Foods Slovakia, Whirlpool Slovakia, Železnice Slovenskej republiky, AeroMobil, and Tesco Stores Slovak Republic.

The Slovak economy's strong growth in the 2000s has led to a boom in the construction industry, and several major projects have been completed or are planned in Bratislava.[96] Areas attracting developers include the Danube riverfront, where two major projects are already finished: River Park in the Old Town, and Eurovea near the Apollo Bridge.[141][142] Other locations under development include the areas around the main railway and bus stations, the former industrial zone near the Old Town and in the boroughs of Petržalka, Nové Mesto and Ružinov.[127][143][144] In 2010 the city had a balanced budget of €277 million, with one fifth used for investment.[145] Bratislava holds shares in 17 companies directly, including the city's public transport company Dopravný podnik Bratislava, the waste collection and disposal company named OLO (Odvoz a likvidácia odpadu), and the water utility.[146] The city also manages municipal organisations such as the city police (Mestská polícia), Bratislava City Museum and ZOO Bratislava.[147]

Tourism edit

See also: Tourism in Slovakia
 
The Prešporáčik tourist train in the Old Town
 
Man at Work (Čumil), an icon in the Old Town
 
Group of tourists on a street

In 2022 a total of 927,950 people came to visit Bratislava and spent there 1,719,409 nights.[148] These were most commonly 65% foreigners. Bratislava attracts predominantly visitors from the neighboring and nearby countries - Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Poland. The top 5 is closed by visitors from the UK. Bratislava offered 272 accommodation facilities with 10,338 rooms in 2022.[148] A considerable share of visits is made by those who visit Bratislava for a single day, but their exact number is not available.

Among other factors, the growth of low-cost airline flights to Bratislava, led by Ryanair, has led to conspicuous stag parties, primarily from the UK. While these are a boom to the city's tourism industry, cultural differences and vandalism have led to concern by local officials.[149] Reflecting the popularity of rowdy parties in Bratislava in the early to mid-2000s, the city was a setting in the 2004 comedy film Eurotrip, which was actually filmed in the city of Prague, the Czech Republic.

Shopping edit

 
Aupark shopping mall
 
Interior of Eurovea shopping mall
 
Central shopping mall

Bratislava has eight major shopping centres: Aupark, Avion Shopping Park, Bory Mall, Central, Eurovea, Nivy Centrum, Vivo! (formerly Polus City Center) and Shopping Palace.

A month before Christmas the Main Square in Bratislava is illuminated by a Christmas tree and the Christmas market stalls are officially opened. Around 100 booths are opened every year. It is opened most of the day as well as in the evening.

Culture edit

Bratislava is the cultural heart of Slovakia. Owing to its historical multi-cultural character, local culture is influenced by various ethnic and religious groups, including Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians, and Jews.[150] Bratislava enjoys numerous theatres, museums, galleries, concert halls, cinemas, film clubs, and foreign cultural institutions.[151]

Performing arts edit

 
The old Slovak National Theatre building on Hviezdoslav Square
 
The new building of Slovak National Theatre

Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak National Theatre, housed in two buildings.[152] The first is a Neo-Renaissance theatre building situated in the Old Town at the end of Hviezdoslav Square. The new building, opened to the public in 2007, is on the riverfront.[97][152] The theatre has three ensembles: opera, ballet and drama.[152] Smaller theatres include the New Scene Theatre, the Astorka Korzo '90 Theatre, the Arena Theatre, the L+S Studio, the Naive Theatre of Radošina and the Bratislava Puppet Theatre.

 
Slovak Philharmonic

Music in Bratislava flourished in the 18th century and was closely linked to Viennese musical life. Mozart visited the town at the age of six. Among other notable composers who visited or lived in the town were Haydn, Liszt,[153] Bartók and Beethoven. It is also the birthplace of the composers Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ernő Dohnányi, and Franz Schmidt. Bratislava is home to both the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and the chamber orchestra, Capella Istropolitana. The city hosts several annual festivals, such as the Bratislava Music Festival and Bratislava Jazz Days.[154] During the summer, various musical events take place as part of the Bratislava Cultural Summer at Bratislava Castle. Apart from musical festivals, it is possible to hear music ranging from underground to well known pop stars.[155]

Bratislava is home to two of Slovakia's national folk dance ensembles, Lúčnica and Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív (SĽUK).[156][157][158]

Museums and galleries edit

Main article: Museums and galleries of Bratislava
 
Slovak National Museum
 
Slovak National Gallery
 
The Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, museum of modern art at Danube river

The Slovak National Museum (Slovenské národné múzeum), founded in 1961, has its headquarters in Bratislava on the riverfront in the Old Town, along with the Natural History Museum, which is one of its subdivisions. It is the largest cultural institution in Slovakia, and manages 16 specialized museums in Bratislava and beyond.[159] The Bratislava City Museum (Múzeum mesta Bratislavy), established in 1868, is the oldest museum in continuous operation in Slovakia.[160] Its primary goal is to chronicle Bratislava's history in various forms from the earliest periods using historical and archaeological collections. It offers permanent displays in eight specialised museums.

The Slovak National Gallery, founded in 1948, offers the most extensive network of galleries in Slovakia. Two displays in Bratislava are next to one another at Esterházy Palace (Esterházyho palác) and the Water Barracks (Vodné kasárne) on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town. The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961, is the second-largest Slovak gallery of its kind. The gallery offers permanent displays at Pálffy Palace (Pálffyho palác) and Mirbach Palace (Mirbachov palác), in the Old Town.[161] Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is near Čunovo waterworks.[162]

Media edit

See also: Television in Slovakia, List of radio stations in Slovakia, and List of newspapers in Slovakia

As the national capital, Bratislava is home to national and many local media outlets. Notable TV stations based in the city include Radio and Television of Slovakia (Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska), Markíza, JOJ and TA3. RTVS radio's headquarters has its seat in the centre, and many Slovak commercial radio stations are based in the city. National newspapers based in Bratislava include SME, Pravda, Nový čas, Hospodárske noviny and the English-language The Slovak Spectator. Two news agencies are headquartered there: the News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR, Tlačová agentúra Slovenskej republiky) and the Slovak News Agency (SITA, Slovenská tlačová agentúra).

Sport edit

Main article: Sport in Bratislava
 
National football stadium
 
Štadión Pasienky
 
Ondrej Nepela Arena, ice-hockey and mixed use arena

Various sports and sports teams have a long tradition in Bratislava, with many teams and individuals competing in Slovak and international leagues and competitions.

Football is currently represented by the only club playing in the top Slovak football league, the Fortuna Liga. ŠK Slovan Bratislava, founded in 1919, has its home ground at the Tehelné pole stadium. ŠK Slovan is the most successful football club in Slovak history, being the only club from the former Czechoslovakia to win the European football competition the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1969.[163]FC Petržalka akadémia is the oldest of Bratislava's football clubs, founded in 1898, and is based at Stadium FC Petržalka 1898 in Petržalka (formerly at Pasienky in Nové Mesto and Štadión Petržalka in Petržalka). They are currently the only Slovak team to win at least one match in the UEFA Champions League group stage, with a 5–0 win over Celtic FC in the qualifying round being the most well-known, alongside a 3–2 win over FC Porto. Before then FC Košice in the 1997–98 season lost all six matches, despite being the first Slovak side since independence to play in the competition.

In 2010 Artmedia were relegated from the Corgon Liga under their new name of MFK Petržalka, finishing 12th and bottom. FC Petržalka akadémia currently competes in 5. liga after bankruptcy in summer 2014. Another known club from the city is FK Inter Bratislava. Founded in 1945, they have their home ground at Stadium ŠKP Inter Dúbravka in Dúbravka, (formerly at Štadión Pasienky) and currently plays in the 3. liga. There are many more clubs with long tradition and successful history despite the lack of success in last years, e.g. LP Domino Bratislava currently playing in 4. liga; FK Rača Bratislava competing in the 3. liga as well as Inter; FK ŠKP Inter Dúbravka Bratislava, following ŠKP Devín (successful team from the 1990s) and partially following the original Inter (original Inter bankrupted in 2009, sold the Corgoň Liga license to FK Senica and legally merged with FC ŠKP Dúbravka; current Inter has taken over the tradition, name, colours, fans, etc., but legally is no successor of the original Inter); FC Tatran Devín, the club that was successful mostly at youth level and merged with ŠKP Bratislava in 1995; MŠK Iskra Petržalka, playing under the name ŠK Iskra Matadorfix Bratislava in the former 1st League (today 2nd) in 1997/98.

Bratislava is home to three winter sports arenas: Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, V. Dzurilla Winter Sports Stadium, and Dúbravka Winter Sports Stadium. The HC Slovan Bratislava ice hockey team has represented Bratislava from the 2012–13 season in the Kontinental Hockey League. Slovnaft Arena, a part of Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, is home to HC Slovan. The Ice Hockey World Championships in 1959 and 1992 were played in Bratislava, and the 2011 World Championship were held in Bratislava and Košice, for which a new arena was built.[164] The city also played host to the World Championship in 2019.

The Čunovo Water Sports Centre is a whitewater slalom and rafting area, close to the Gabčíkovo dam. It hosts several international and national canoe and kayak competitions annually.

In 1966, Bratislava named its new multi-sports stadium after tennis player Ladislav Hecht.[165][166]

The National Tennis Centre, which includes Aegon Arena, hosts various cultural, sporting and social events. Several Davis Cup matches have been played there, including the 2005 Davis Cup final. The city is represented in the top Slovak leagues in women's and men's basketball, women's handball and volleyball, and men's water polo. The Devín–Bratislava National run is the oldest athletic event in Slovakia,[167] and the Bratislava City Marathon has been held annually since 2006. A race track is located in Petržalka, where horse racing and dog racing events and dog shows are held regularly.

Bratislava is also the centre of rugby union in Slovakia.

Education and science edit

 
Universitas Istropolitana building
 
Comenius University headquarters at Šafárikovo námestie

The first university in Bratislava, in the Kingdom of Hungary (and also in the territory of present-day Slovakia) was Universitas Istropolitana, founded in 1465 by King Matthias Corvinus. It was closed in 1490 after his death.[168]

Bratislava is the seat of the largest university (Comenius University, 27,771 students),[169] the largest technical university (Slovak University of Technology, 18,473 students),[170] and the oldest art schools (the Academy of Performing Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design) in Slovakia. Other institutions of tertiary education are the public University of Economics and the first private college in Slovakia, City University of Seattle.[171] In total, about 56,000 students attend university in Bratislava.[172]

There are 65 public primary schools, nine private primary schools and ten religious primary schools.[173] Overall, they enroll 25,821 pupils.[173] The city's system of secondary education (some middle schools and all high schools) consists of 39 gymnasia with 16,048 students,[174] 37 specialized high schools with 10,373 students,[175] and 27 vocational schools with 8,863 students (data as of 2007).[176][177]

The Slovak Academy of Sciences is also based in Bratislava. However, the city is one of the few European capitals to have neither an observatory nor a planetarium. The nearest observatory is in Modra, 30 kilometres (19 mi) away, and the nearest planetarium is in Hlohovec, 70 kilometres (43 mi) away.

Transport edit

Main articles: Transport in Bratislava and Public Transport in Bratislava
See also: List of bridges in Bratislava city
 
Nivy is a mixed use complex with underground international bus station opened in 2021.
 
Terminal building at Bratislava Airport (BTS)
 
Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport, located 49 kilometres (30.4 mi) west of the city centre.

The geographical position of Bratislava in Central Europe has long made it a natural crossroads for international trade traffic.[178]

Public transport in Bratislava is managed by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, a city-owned company. The transport system is known as Mestská hromadná doprava (MHD, Municipal Mass Transit) and employs buses, trams, and trolleybuses.[179] Most of the Bratislava public transport is coated in a typical color combination of red and black.

Bratislava is also part of an integrated system, IDS BK, connecting city public transport with other transport companies in the Bratislava region. Traveling with a single ticket is possible throughout the system network, both in Bratislava and to the nearby villages and cities, including 3 other districts of Senec, Malacky, and Pezinok.

As a rail hub, the city has direct connections to Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia and the rest of Slovakia. Bratislava-Petržalka railway station and Bratislava Main station are the principal railway stations.

Daily trains and buses from Bratislava to Vienna run multiple times every hour, with the Wien Hbf train station serving Bratislava as well, with more connections throughout Europe, opening possibilities for a travel to Italy and France with a quick change of trains in Vienna.

The main bus station (Autobusová stanica or Autobusová stanica Nivy) is located at Mlynské Nivy, east of the city centre, and offers both bus connections to cities in Slovakia and international bus lines. A new bus station attached to a shopping mall, administration centre, and Bratislava's tallest skyscraper, Nivy Tower, was opened on the 30th of September 2021.[180] The bus station lies underground and its design was inspired by airport terminals. The waiting area offers enough space and comfort to wait for the bus.

The motorway system provides direct access to Brno in the Czech Republic, Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary, Trnava, and other points in Slovakia. The A6 motorway between Bratislava and Vienna was opened in November 2007.[181]

The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port provides access to the Black Sea via the Danube and to the North Sea through the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. Additionally, tourist lines operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín, Vienna, and elsewhere. In Bratislava there are currently six bridges standing over the Danube (ordered by the flow of the river): Most Lafranconi (Lafranconi Bridge), Most SNP (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising, previously called Nový most or New bridge) with the famous UFO Tower, Starý most (The Old Bridge), Most Apollo (Apollo Bridge), Prístavný most (The Harbor Bridge) and Lužný most (The Floodplain bridge).

Bratislava's M. R. Štefánik Airport is the main international airport in Slovakia. The airport is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north-east of the city centre, with fast connections served by the city public transport. It serves civil and governmental, scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights. The current runways support the landing for all common types of aircraft. It served 2,024,000 passengers in 2007.[182] Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport located 49 kilometres (30.4 mi) west of the city centre. It is common for Bratislava residents to use the Vienna airport often, as it offers more variety and can be reached under 60 minutes from Bratislava with a car.

 
Škoda 30 T tram in Bratislava
 
Twin City Liner express boat on the Danube, connecting Bratislava with Vienna
 
A typical red bus in Bratislava

International relations edit

 
Paparazzi statue in Bratislava's Old Town
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Bratislava is twinned with:

* Numbers in parentheses list the year of twinning. The first agreement was signed with the city of Perugia in Italy on 18 July 1962.

Notable people edit

Main article: List of people from Bratislava

Honorary citizens edit

People who have received the honorary citizenship of Bratislava are:

Date Name Notes
4 September 1990 Helmut Zilk Mayor of Vienna
24 September 1997 Edita Gruberová Sopranist
19 November 2009 Václav Havel (1936–2011) President of Czechoslovakia 1989–1992 and President of the Czech Republic 1993–2003[185]
26 September 2011 Major General Roy Martin Umbarger United States Army Officer[186]
28 October 2014 Karel Gott Czech singer[187]
19 December 2020 John Paul II Catholic Pope[188]

Image gallery edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Bratislava finds census results as positive". Pravda.sk. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat".
  3. ^ Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0
  4. ^ Roach, Peter (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-15253-2
  5. ^ "Market Locator's analysis of the real number of Bratislava's inhabitants". Denník SME. May 26, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Dominic Swire (2006). . Finance New Europe. Archived from the original on December 10, 2006. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  7. ^ . City of Bratislava. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2007.
  8. ^ Gruber, Ruth E. (March 10, 1991). "Charm and Concrete in Bratislava". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2008.
  9. ^ . City of Bratislava. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2007.
  10. ^ "Bratislava je tretí najbohatší región únie. Ako je možné, že predbehla Londýn či Paríž?". Finweb.hnonline.sk. March 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  11. ^ "Bratislava – capital city of Slovakia versus other regions of Slovak Republic". Laboureconomics.wordpress.com. April 29, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  12. ^ "Bratislava reports increase in visitors". The Slovak Spectator. December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  13. ^ Bugge, Peter (March 27, 2009). "The Making of a Slovak City: The Czechoslovak Renaming of Pressburg/Pozsony/Prešporok, 1918–19". Austrian History Yearbook. Cambridge University. 35: 205–227. doi:10.1017/S0067237800020993. S2CID 145074158. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Peter Salner (2001). (PDF). Czech Sociological Review. 9 (2): 235–246. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2008.
  15. ^ Nagayo, Susumu. "A Reflection on the Names of a City in the Borderlands - Pressburg/Pozsony/Prešporok/Bratislava" (PDF). Slavic-Eurasian Research Center. Hokkaido University. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  16. ^ "Bratislava". The Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. 2014. ISBN 9780191751394.
  17. ^ Duin, Pieter C. van (May 1, 2009). Central European Crossroads: Social Democracy and National Revolution in Bratislava (Pressburg), 1867-1921. Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1-84545-918-5.
  18. ^ Grässe, J. G. Th. (1909) [1861]. Orbis latinus; oder, Verzeichnis der wichtigsten lateinischen Orts- und Ländernamen (in German) (2nd ed.). Berlin: Schmidt. OCLC 1301238. Retrieved February 11, 2016 – via Columbia University.
  19. ^ . City of Bratislava. 2005. Archived from the original on February 24, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  20. ^ Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 73
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References edit

  • Horváth, V.; Lehotská, D.; Pleva, J.; et al., eds. (1979). Dejiny Bratislavy (History of Bratislava) (in Slovak) (2nd ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Janota, Igor (2006). Bratislavské rarity (Rarities of Bratislava) (in Slovak) (1st ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Vydavateľstvo PT. ISBN 80-89218-19-9.
  • Kováč, Dušan (2006). Bratislava 1939–1945 – Mier a vojna v meste (Bratislava 1939–1945 – Peace and war in the town) (in Slovak) (1st ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Vydavateľstvo PT. ISBN 80-89218-29-6.
  • Kováč, Dušan; et al. (1998). Kronika Slovenska 1 (Chronicle of Slovakia 1) (in Slovak) (1st ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Fortuna Print. ISBN 80-7153-174-X.
  • Kováč, Dušan; et al. (1999). Kronika Slovenska 2 (Chronicle of Slovakia 2) (in Slovak) (1st ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Fortuna Print. ISBN 80-88980-08-9.
  • Lacika, Ján (2000). Bratislava. Visiting Slovakia (1st ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: DAJAMA. ISBN 80-88975-16-6.
  • Špiesz, Anton (2001). Bratislava v stredoveku (Bratislava in the Middle Ages) (in Slovak) (1st ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Perfekt. ISBN 80-8046-145-7.
  • Varga, Erzsébet (1995). Pozsony (in Hungarian) (1st ed.). Pozsony: Madách-Posonium. ISBN 80-7089-245-5.
  • Jankovics, Marcell (2000). Húsz esztendő Pozsonyban (Twenty years in Bratislava) (in Hungarian) (2nd ed.). Pozsony: Méry Ratio. ISBN 80-88837-34-0.

Genealogical resources edit

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Bratislava, Slovakia"

  • Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1601–1897 (parish A)
  • Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1606–1919 (parish A)

External links edit

Official sites edit

  • Official website of the City of Bratislava
  • Official Tourism and Travel Guide to Bratislava
  • Official Slovak National Tourism Portal

Tourism and living information edit

  • Public urban transport in Bratislava

February 16, 2024
bratislava, region, region, ɑː, brat, also, ɑː, braht, slovak, ˈbracislaʋa, hungarian, pozsony, ˈpoʒoɲ, historically, known, preßburg, pressburg, german, pronunciation, ˈpʁɛsˌbʊʁk, capital, largest, city, slovakia, officially, population, city, about, however,. For the region see Bratislava Region Bratislava ˌ b r ae t ɪ ˈ s l ɑː v e BRAT iss LAH ve US also ˌ b r ɑː t BRAHT 3 4 Slovak ˈbracislaʋa Hungarian Pozsony ˈpoʒoɲ historically known as Pressburg Pressburg German pronunciation ˈpʁɛsˌbʊʁk is the capital and largest city of Slovakia Officially the population of the city is about 475 000 however it is estimated to be more than 660 000 approximately 140 of the official figures 5 Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava Bordering Austria and Hungary it is the only national capital to border two sovereign states 6 BratislavaCapital cityClockwise from top View of Bratislava Financial district Old Town streets Grassalkovich Palace Blue Church View of Old TownFlagCoat of armsWordmarkNicknames Beauty on the Danube Little Big City BlavaBratislavaLocation of Bratislava in SlovakiaShow map of SlovakiaBratislavaBratislava Bratislava Region Show map of Bratislava RegionBratislavaBratislava Europe Show map of EuropeCoordinates 48 08 38 N 17 06 35 E 48 14389 N 17 10972 E 48 14389 17 10972Country SlovakiaRegionBratislavaFirst mentioned907Government MayorMatus ValloArea Capital city367 584 km2 141 925 sq mi Urban853 15 km2 329 40 sq mi Metro2 053 km2 792 66 sq mi Elevation134 m 440 ft Population 2021 1 Metro719 537 Capital city census475 503 Capital city estimate660 000 Capital city estimate density1 812 km2 4 690 sq mi DemonymsBratislavcan m Bratislavcanka f sk Bratislavan en pozsonyi hu Pressburger de Time zoneUTC 1 CET Summer DST UTC 2 CEST Postal code8XX XXArea code421 2Car plateBA BL BTGross metropolitan product 2 2021 Total 28 billion US 33B Per capita 38 900 US 46 007 Websitebratislava skThe city s history has been influenced by people of many nations and religions including Austrians Bulgarians Croats Czechs Germans Hungarians Jews and Slovaks 7 It was the coronation site and legislative center and capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1563 to 1783 8 eleven Hungarian kings and eight queens were crowned in St Martin s Cathedral Most Hungarian parliament assemblies were held here from the 17th century until the Hungarian Reform Era and the city has been home to many Hungarian German and Slovak historical figures Today Bratislava is the political cultural and economic centre of Slovakia It is the seat of the Slovak president the parliament and the Slovak Executive It has several universities and many museums theatres galleries and other cultural and educational institutions 9 Many of Slovakia s large businesses and financial institutions have headquarters there GDP at purchasing power parity is about three times higher than in other Slovak regions 10 11 Bratislava receives around one million tourists every year mostly from the Czech Republic Germany and Austria 12 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 3 2 Location 4 Cityscape and architecture 4 1 Bratislava Castle 4 2 Devin Castle 4 3 Rusovce 4 4 Parks and lakes 5 Demographics 6 Politics 6 1 City Council 6 2 Administration 7 Economy 7 1 Tourism 7 2 Shopping 8 Culture 8 1 Performing arts 8 2 Museums and galleries 8 3 Media 9 Sport 10 Education and science 11 Transport 12 International relations 12 1 Twin towns sister cities 13 Notable people 13 1 Honorary citizens 14 Image gallery 15 See also 16 Notes 17 References 17 1 Genealogical resources 18 External links 18 1 Official sites 18 2 Tourism and living informationEtymology editThe city received its contemporary name on 16 March 1919 13 Until then it was mostly known in English as Pressburg from its German name Pressburg since after 1526 it was dominated mostly by the Habsburg monarchy and the city had a relevant ethnic German population That is the term from which the pre 1919 Slovak Presporok and Czech Prespurk names are derived 14 The linguist Jan Stanislav believed the city s Hungarian name Pozsony to be attributed to the surname Bozan likely a prince who owned the castle before 950 Although the Latin name was also based on the same surname according to research by the lexicologist Milan Majtan the Hungarian version is not found in any official records from the time in which the prince would have lived All three versions however were related to those found in Slovak Czech and German Vratislaburgum 905 Braslavespurch and Preslavasburc both 907 15 The medieval settlement Brezalauspurc literally Braslav s castle is sometimes attributed to Bratislava but the actual location of Brezalauspurc is under scholarly debate The city s modern name is credited to Pavol Jozef Safarik s misinterpretation of Braslav as Bratislav in his analysis of medieval sources which led him to invent the term Bretislaw which later became Bratislav 16 During the revolution of 1918 1919 the name Wilsonov or Wilsonstadt after US President Woodrow Wilson was proposed by American Slovaks as he supported national self determination The name Bratislava which had been used only by some Slovak patriots became official in March 1919 with the aim that a Slavic name could support demands for the city to be part of Czechoslovakia 17 Other alternative names of the city in the past include Greek Istropolis romanized Istropolis meaning Danube City also used in Latin Latin Posonium Romanian Pojon Croatian Pozun In older documents confusion can be caused by the Latin forms Bratislavia Wratislavia etc which refer to Wroclaw Poland not Bratislava The Polish city has a similar etymology despite spelling differences 18 History editMain article History of Bratislava For a chronological guide see Timeline of Bratislava nbsp Biatec presumably a king who appeared on the Celtic coins minted by the Boii at the current location of Bratislava 1st century B C The first known permanent settlement of the area began with the Linear Pottery Culture around 5000 B C in the Neolithic era About 200 B C the Celtic Boii tribe founded the first significant settlement a fortified town known as an oppidum They also established a mint producing gold and silver coins known as biatecs 19 nbsp Gerulata a Roman Empire military camp built in the 2nd century A D at the current location of BratislavaThe area fell under Roman influence from the 1st to the 4th century A D and was made part of the Danubian Limes a border defence system 20 The Romans introduced grape growing to the area and began a tradition of winemaking which survives to the present 21 The Slavs arrived from the East between the 5th and 6th centuries during the Migration Period 22 As a response to onslaughts by Avars the local Slavic tribes rebelled and established Samo s Empire 623 658 the first known Slavic political entity In the 9th century the castles at Bratislava Brezalauspurk and Devin Dowina were important centres of the Slavic states the Principality of Nitra and Great Moravia 23 Scholars have debated the identification as fortresses of the two castles built in Great Moravia based on linguistic arguments and because of the absence of convincing archaeological evidence 24 25 nbsp Battle of Bratislava in 907The first written reference to a settlement named Brezalauspurc dates to 907 and is related to the Battle of Pressburg during which a Bavarian army was defeated by the Hungarians It is connected to the fall of Great Moravia already weakened by its own inner decline 26 and under the attacks of the Hungarians 27 The exact location of the battle remains unknown and some interpretations place it west of Lake Balaton 28 nbsp The earliest known depiction of Pressburg Castle Chronicon Pictum 1358 nbsp Pressburg Bratislava in 1588 In the 10th century the territory of Pressburg what would later become Pozsony county became part of Hungary called the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 It developed as a key economic and administrative centre on the kingdom s frontier 29 In 1052 German Emperor Henry III undertook a fifth campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary and besieged Pressburg without success as the Hungarians sank his supply ships on the Danube river This strategic position destined the city to be the site of frequent attacks and battles but also brought it economic development and high political status It was granted its first known town privileges in 1291 by the Hungarian King Andrew III 30 and was declared a free royal town in 1405 by King Sigismund In 1436 he authorized the town to use its own coat of arms 31 The Kingdom of Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Mohacs in 1526 The Ottomans besieged and damaged Pressburg but failed to conquer it 32 Owing to Ottoman advances into Hungarian territory the city was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536 after becoming part of the Habsburg monarchy and marking the beginning of a new era The city became a coronation town and the seat of kings archbishops 1543 the nobility and all major organisations and offices Between 1536 and 1830 eleven Hungarian kings and queens were crowned at St Martin s Cathedral 33 The 17th century was marked by anti Habsburg uprisings fighting with the Ottomans floods plagues and other disasters which diminished the population 34 Great epidemics were spreading in Bratislava in 1541 1542 1552 1553 1660 1665 and 1678 1681 A terrible outbreak of 1678 1681 left approximately 11 000 casualties among Bratislava s residents city population was in that time around 30 000 people The last plague outbreak of Bratislava was between the years 1712 1713 35 nbsp The Plague Column built in 1713 nbsp Coronation of Maria Theresa in 1741 nbsp Maria Theresa s ride in Bratislava 1747 Pressburg flourished during the 18th century reign of Queen Maria Theresa 36 becoming the largest and most important town in the Kingdom of Hungary 37 The population tripled many new palaces 36 monasteries mansions and streets were built and the city was the centre of social and cultural life of the region 38 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert in 1762 in the Palffy Palace Joseph Haydn performed in 1784 in the Grassalkovich Palace Ludwig van Beethoven was a guest in 1796 in the Keglevich Palace 39 40 The city started to lose its importance under the reign of Maria Theresa s son Joseph II 36 especially after the crown jewels were taken to Vienna in 1783 in an attempt to strengthen the relations between Austria and Hungary Many central offices subsequently moved to Buda followed by a large segment of the nobility 41 The first newspapers in Hungarian and Slovak were published here Magyar hirmondo in 1780 and Presspurske Nowiny in 1783 42 In the course of the 18th century the city became a centre for the Slovak national movement nbsp Devin Castle in 1809 Napoleon Bonaparte s French army blew up the castle nbsp In 1811 a huge fire raged through Bratislava Castle destroyed the main palace and more than 70 nearby houses nbsp Pressburg Bratislava in the 19th century The city s 19th century history was closely tied to the major events in Europe The Peace of Pressburg between Austrian Empire and French Empire was signed here in 1805 43 Devin Castle was ruined by Napoleon s French troops during an invasion of 1809 44 In 1825 the Hungarian National Learned Society the present Hungarian Academy of Sciences was founded in Pressburg using a donation from Istvan Szechenyi In 1843 Hungarian was proclaimed the official language in legislation public administration and education by the Diet in the city 45 As a reaction to the Revolutions of 1848 Ferdinand V signed the so called April laws which included the abolition of serfdom at the Primate s Palace 46 The city chose the revolutionary Hungarian side but was captured by the Austrians in December 1848 47 Industry developed rapidly in the 19th century The first horse drawn railway in the Kingdom of Hungary 48 from Pressburg to Szentgyorgy Svaty Jur was built in 1840 49 A new line to Vienna using steam locomotives was opened in 1848 and a line to Pest in 1850 50 Many new industrial financial and other institutions were founded for example the first bank in present day Slovakia was founded in 1842 51 The city s first permanent bridge over the Danube Stary most Old Bridge was built in 1891 52 Between the years 1867 1918 the territory of Pressburg became part of Austro Hungarian Empire Before World War I the city had a population that was 42 German 41 Hungarian and 15 Slovak 1910 census The first post war census in 1919 declared the city s ethnic composition at 36 German 33 Slovak and 29 Hungarian but this may have reflected changing self identification rather than an exchange of peoples Many people were bi or trilingual and multicultural After World War I began dissolution of the Austro Hungarian Empire U S president Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the new Czechoslovak state In a blatant attempt to appeal to the Allies American Slovaks proposed rename the city Wilsonovo mesto Wilson City after Woodrow Wilson 53 nbsp Pressburg Bratislava in 1915 during World War I nbsp Czechoslovak Legion at the Old Bridge Stary most in Bratislava during Hungarian Czechoslovak War 1919 On 28 October 1918 Czechoslovakia was proclaimed but its borders were not settled for several months 54 The dominant Hungarian and German population tried to prevent annexation of the city to Czechoslovakia and declared it a free city 55 while the Hungarian Prime Minister Karolyi protested against the Czech invasion The Slovak National Assembly meanwhile called it a defensive action of the Slovaks themselves to end the anarchy caused by the flight of the Hungarians 56 The Allies of World War I drew a provisional demarcation line this was revealed to the Hungarian government on December 23 in the document known as the Vix Note The Czechoslovak Legion arrived from Italy began to advance on 30 December and by 2 January 1919 all important civil and military buildings were in Czechoslovak hands 57 It was the beginning of the conflict which later continued as Hungarian Czechoslovak War The city became the seat of Slovakia s political organs and organizations and became Slovakia s capital on 4 February 58 On March 27 1919 the name Bratislava was officially adopted for the first time to replace the previous Slovak name Presporok 59 At the beginning of August 1919 Czechoslovakia got permission to correct the borders for the strategic reasons mainly to secure the port and to prevent a potential attack of the Hungarian Army on the town On the night of 14 August 1919 barefoot Czechoslovak soldiers silently climbed to the Hungarian side of the Stary most Old Bridge captured the guards and annexed Petrzalka currently part of Bratislava s 5th district without a fight 60 The Paris Peace Conference assigned the area to Czechoslovakia with the aim of creating a bridgehead for the newly created Czechoslovak state for controlling the Danube Left without any protection after the retreat of the Hungarian army many Hungarians were expelled or fled 61 Czechs and Slovaks moved their households to Bratislava Education in Hungarian and German was radically reduced in the city 62 By the 1930 Czechoslovak census the Hungarian population of Bratislava had decreased to 15 8 see the Demographics of Bratislava article for more details nbsp German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler on his visit to Bratislava after Munich Betrayal October 1938 nbsp Bratislava was bombarded by the United States Army Air Forces during the Nazi Occupation in 1944 In 1938 Nazi Germany annexed neighbouring Austria in the Anschluss on 10 October 1938 on the basis of the Munich agreement it also annexed still separate from Bratislava Petrzalka and Devin boroughs on ethnic grounds as these had many ethnic Germans 63 64 Petrzalka was renamed Engerau The Stary most Old Bridge becomes a border bridge between the Czechoslovakia and Nazi Germany Bratislava was declared the capital of the first independent Slovak Republic on March 14 1939 but the new state quickly fell under Nazi influence In 1941 1942 and 1944 1945 the new Slovak government cooperated in deporting most of Bratislava s approximately 15 000 Jews 65 they were transported to concentration camps where most were killed or died before the end of the war in the Holocaust 66 Bratislava occupied by German troops was many times bombarded by the Allies Major air raid included the bombing of Bratislava and its refinery Apollo on June 16 1944 by American B 24 bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force with 181 victims 67 On 4 April 1945 Bratislava was taken by troops of the Soviet Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front during Bratislava Brno offensive 63 68 At the end of World War II most of Bratislava s ethnic Germans were evacuated by the German authorities A few returned after the war but were soon expelled without their properties under the Benes decrees 69 part of a widespread expulsion of ethnic Germans from eastern Europe After World War II Slovak Republic lost its so called independence and was reunified again with the Czech Republic as Czechoslovak Republic Petrzalka currently part of Bratislava s 5th district and Devin currently part of Bratislava s 4th district was returned to Czechoslovakia Furthermore after signing the Peace Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1947 three Hungarian villages namely Horvatjarfalu Jarovce Oroszvar Rusovce and Dunacsun Cunovo situated south of Bratislava were transferred to Czechoslovakia in order to form the so called Bratislava bridgehead currently all three of them are part of Bratislava s 5th district nbsp Soviet tank in Bratislava during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 nbsp Iron Curtain memorial in Bratislava 400 people were killed trying to cross the border into the West during the communist era After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948 the city became part of the Eastern Bloc The city annexed new land and the population rose significantly becoming 90 Slovak Large residential areas consisting of high rise prefabricated panel buildings such as those in the Petrzalka or Dubravka borough were built The Communist government also built several new grandiose buildings such as the Slovak Radio Building Slavin or Kamzik TV Tower A quarter of Bratislava s Old Town was demolished in the late 1960s for a single project the bridge of the Slovak National Uprising To make space for this development much of the city s centuries old historical Jewish quarter was razed including the 19th century Moorish styled Neolog Synagogue 70 In 1968 after the unsuccessful Czechoslovak attempt to liberalise the Communist regime the city was occupied by Warsaw Pact troops Shortly thereafter it became capital of the Slovak Socialist Republic one of the two states of the federalized Czechoslovakia Bratislava s dissidents anticipated the fall of Communism with the Bratislava candle demonstration in 1988 and the city became one of the foremost centres of the anti Communist Velvet Revolution in 1989 71 The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 was followed once again by the country s dissolution this time into two successor states Czechoslovak Socialist Republic renamed as Czech and Slovak Federative Republic the word socialist was dropped in the names of the two republics within the federation the Slovak Socialist Republic renamed as Slovak Republic In 1993 Bratislava became second time the capital of the newly formed independent Slovak Republic following the Velvet Divorce 72 Geography editMain article Geography of Bratislava nbsp Map of Bratislava nbsp Satellite view of BratislavaBratislava is situated in southwestern Slovakia within the Bratislava Region Its location on the borders with Austria and Hungary makes it the only national capital that borders two countries It is only 18 kilometres 11 2 mi from the border with Hungary and only 60 kilometres 37 3 mi from the Austrian capital Vienna 73 The city has a total area of 367 58 square kilometres 141 9 sq mi making it the second largest city in Slovakia by area after the township of Vysoke Tatry 74 Bratislava straddles the Danube River along which it had developed and for centuries the chief transportation route to other areas The river passes through the city from the west to the southeast The Middle Danube basin begins at Devin Gate in western Bratislava Other rivers are the Morava River which forms the northwestern border of the city and enters the Danube at Devin the Little Danube and the Vydrica which enters the Danube in the borough of Karlova Ves The Carpathian mountain range begins in city territory with the Little Carpathians Male Karpaty The Zahorie and Danubian lowlands stretch into Bratislava The city s lowest point is at the Danube s surface at 126 metres 413 ft above mean sea level and the highest point is Devinska Kobyla at 514 metres 1 686 ft The average altitude is 140 metres 460 ft 75 Climate edit Bratislava has recently shifted into the humid subtropical climate under Koppen Geiger climate classification Cfa and is classified as temperate oceanic climate under Trewartha climate classification DOak It is in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7b 76 with a mean annual temperature of around 11 1 C 52 0 F an average temperature of 22 0 C 71 6 F in the warmest month and 0 3 C 32 5 F in the coldest month four distinct seasons 77 and precipitation spread rather evenly throughout the year It is often windy with a marked variation between hot summers and cold humid winters There also can sometimes be a significant difference in weather between the parts of the city Bratislava just like any other city has an urban heat island effect but there is no weather station directly in the urban core so the temperature there can be slightly higher than the official weather station reports The city is in one of the warmest and driest parts of Slovakia 78 Recently the transitions from winter to summer and summer to winter have been rapid with short autumn and spring periods Snow occurs less frequently than previously 77 Extreme temperatures 1981 2013 record high 39 4 C 102 9 F 79 record low 24 6 C 12 3 F Some areas particularly Devin and Devinska Nova Ves are vulnerable to floods from the Danube and Morava rivers 80 New flood protection has been built on both banks 81 Climate data for Bratislava Airport 1991 2020 normals extremes 1951 present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 19 8 67 6 19 7 67 5 25 0 77 0 30 3 86 5 33 4 92 1 36 3 97 3 38 2 100 8 39 4 102 9 34 0 93 2 28 0 82 4 21 6 70 9 17 9 64 2 39 4 102 9 Mean daily maximum C F 3 1 37 6 5 8 42 4 11 1 52 0 17 5 63 5 21 7 71 1 25 6 78 1 28 0 82 4 27 9 82 2 21 9 71 4 15 6 60 1 9 3 48 7 3 7 38 7 15 9 60 6 Daily mean C F 0 3 32 5 1 9 35 4 6 1 43 0 11 7 53 1 16 2 61 2 20 2 68 4 22 0 71 6 21 5 70 7 16 2 61 2 10 7 51 3 5 7 42 3 1 1 34 0 11 1 52 0 Mean daily minimum C F 2 8 27 0 1 7 28 9 1 7 35 1 5 7 42 3 10 6 51 1 14 2 57 6 16 2 61 2 15 9 60 6 11 2 52 2 6 3 43 3 2 6 36 7 1 5 29 3 6 5 43 7 Record low C F 24 6 12 3 24 6 12 3 16 4 2 5 5 0 23 0 1 6 29 1 2 7 36 9 4 4 39 9 4 8 40 6 1 7 28 9 7 6 18 3 12 5 9 5 20 3 4 5 24 6 12 3 Average precipitation mm inches 37 4 1 47 32 9 1 30 36 8 1 45 35 9 1 41 58 6 2 31 59 2 2 33 61 8 2 43 60 5 2 38 58 6 2 31 43 6 1 72 46 2 1 82 42 7 1 68 574 3 22 61 Average precipitation days 1 0 mm 13 2 11 4 11 7 9 2 11 3 10 9 11 5 10 0 9 6 11 2 12 5 13 6 136 1Average snowy days 11 2 8 7 5 8 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 8 6 39 8Average relative humidity 80 9 74 7 67 5 61 0 62 8 62 0 60 5 62 3 69 2 76 8 81 9 83 2 70 2Mean monthly sunshine hours 65 5 99 3 153 7 218 6 258 1 269 4 286 5 273 3 194 5 134 6 69 5 51 9 2 074 9Source 1 World Meteorological Organisation 82 83 Source 2 SHMI extremes 1951 present 84 Location editCityscape and architecture editSee also List of palaces in Bratislava nbsp Hviezdoslav Square nbsp Main Square The cityscape of Bratislava is characterized by medieval towers and grandiose 20th century buildings but it underwent profound changes in a construction boom at the start of the 21st century 85 Most historical buildings are concentrated in the Old Town Bratislava s Town Hall is a complex of three buildings erected in the 14th 15th centuries and now hosts the Bratislava City Museum Michael s Gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications and it ranks among the oldest of the town s buildings 86 the narrowest house in Europe is nearby 87 The University Library building erected in 1756 was used by the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1802 to 1848 88 Much of the significant legislation of the Hungarian Reform Era such as the abolition of serfdom and the foundation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was enacted there 88 The historic centre is characterized by many baroque palaces The Grassalkovich Palace built around 1760 is now the residence of the Slovak president and the Slovak government now has its seat in the former Archiepiscopal Palace 89 In 1805 diplomats of emperors Napoleon and Francis II signed the fourth Peace of Pressburg in the Primate s Palace after Napoleon s victory in the Battle of Austerlitz 90 Some smaller houses are historically significant composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in an 18th century house in the Old Town nbsp St Martin s Cathedral nbsp Church of St Elisabeth Notable cathedrals and churches include the Gothic St Martin s Cathedral built in the 13th 16th centuries which served as the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830 91 The Franciscan Church dating to the 13th century has been a place of knighting ceremonies and is the oldest preserved sacral building in the city 92 The Church of St Elizabeth better known as the Blue Church due to its colour is built entirely in the Hungarian Secessionist style Bratislava has one surviving functioning synagogue out of the three major ones existing before the holocaust A curiosity is the underground formerly ground level restored portion of the Jewish cemetery where 19th century Rabbi Moses Sofer is buried located at the base of the castle hill near the entrance to a tram tunnel 93 The only military cemetery in Bratislava is Slavin unveiled in 1960 in honour of Soviet Army soldiers who fell during the liberation of Bratislava in April 1945 It offers a view of the city and the Little Carpathians 94 95 Other prominent 20th century structures include the Most Slovenskeho narodneho povstania Bridge of the Slovak national uprising across the Danube featuring a UFO like tower restaurant Slovak Radio s inverted pyramid shaped headquarters and the uniquely designed Kamzik TV Tower with an observation deck and rotating restaurant In the early 21st century new edifices have transformed the traditional cityscape At the beginning of the 21st century a construction boom has spawned new public structures 96 such as the Most Apollo and a new building of the Slovak National Theatre 97 as well as private real estate development 98 Bratislava Castle edit Main article Bratislava Castle nbsp Bratislava CastleOne of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle Bratislavsky hrad situated on a plateau 85 metres 279 ft above the Danube The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transitional period between the Stone and Bronze ages 99 and has been the acropolis of a Celtic town part of the Roman limes Romanus a huge Slavic fortified settlement and a political military and religious centre for Great Moravia 100 A stone castle was not constructed until the 10th century when the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary however in the 9th century a pre romanesque stone basilica was standing in the area of the hillfort The castle was converted into a Gothic anti Hussite fortress under Sigismund of Luxemburg in 1430 became a Renaissance castle in 1562 101 and was rebuilt in 1649 in the baroque style Under Queen Maria Theresa the castle became a prestigious royal seat In 1811 the castle was inadvertently destroyed by fire and lay in ruins until the 1950s 102 when it was rebuilt mostly in its former Theresian style In the 1940s it was planned to demolish the castle ruins and replace them with a new university complex However it was never realised and in the 1960s reconstruction began Nowadays it serves ceremonial purposes and as a historical museum of the Slovak National Museum Devin Castle edit Main article Devin Castle nbsp Ruins of Devin Castle first written reference to the Devin Castle dates back to 864 103 nbsp View from Devin Castle The ruined and recently renovated Devin Castle is in the borough of Devin on top of a rock where the Morava River which forms the border between Austria and Slovakia enters the Danube It is one of the most important Slovak archaeological sites and contains a museum dedicated to its history 104 Due to its strategic location Devin Castle was a very important frontier castle of Great Moravia and the early Hungarian state It was destroyed by Napoleon s troops in 1809 It is an important symbol of Slovak and Slavic history 105 Rusovce edit Rusovce mansion with its English park is in the Rusovce borough The house was originally built in the 17th century and was turned into an English neo Gothic style mansion in 1841 1844 106 The borough is also known for the ruins of the Roman military camp Gerulata part of limes Romanus a border defence system Gerulata was built and used between the 1st and 4th centuries AD 107 Parks and lakes edit Further information Parks and gardens in Bratislava nbsp Kuchajda lakeDue to its location in the foothills of the Little Carpathians and its riparian vegetation on the Danubian floodplains Bratislava has forests close to the city centre The total amount of public green space is 46 8 square kilometres 18 1 sq mi or 110 square metres 1 200 sq ft per inhabitant 108 The largest city park is Horsky park literally Mountainous Park in the Old Town Bratislavsky lesny park Bratislava Forest Park is located in the Little Carpathians and includes many locales popular among visitors such as Zelezna studienka and Koliba The Forest Park covers an area of 27 3 square kilometres 10 5 sq mi of which 96 is forested mostly with oak and mixed oak hornbeam forest and contains original flora and fauna such as European badgers red foxes wild boar and red and roe deer On the right bank of the Danube in the borough of Petrzalka is Janko Kraľ Park founded in 1774 76 109 A new city park is planned for Petrzalka between the Maly Drazdiak and Veľky Drazdiak lakes 98 Bratislava s zoological park is located in Mlynska dolina near the headquarters of Slovak Television The zoo founded in 1960 currently houses 152 species of animals including the rare white lion and white tiger The Botanical Gardens which belong to Comenius University can be found on the Danube riverfront and house more than 120 species of domestic and foreign origin 110 The city has a number of natural and human made lakes most of which are used for recreation Examples include Strkovec lake in Ruzinov Kuchajda in Nove Mesto Zlate Piesky and the Vajnory lakes in the north east and Rusovce lake in the south which is popular with nudists 111 Demographics editMain article Demographics of Bratislava nbsp High rise apartments in Bratislava2021 census results 112 District Population Ethnic group PopulationBratislava I V 475 577 Slovaks 407 358Bratislava I 46 432 Hungarians 11 167Bratislava II 112 001 Czechs 5 031Bratislava III 76 694 Ukrainians 1524Bratislava IV 105 154 Germans 750Bratislava V 122 296 Other undeclared 47 239From the city s origin until the 19th century Germans were the dominant ethnic group 14 By the end of World War I 42 of the population of Pressburg spoke German as their native language 40 Hungarian and 15 Slovak 14 After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 Bratislava remained a multi ethnic city but with a different demographic trend Due to Slovakization 113 114 the proportion of Slovaks and Czechs increased in the city while the proportion of Germans and Hungarians fell In 1938 59 of the population were Slovaks or Czechs while Germans represented 22 and Hungarians 13 of the city s population 115 The creation of the first Slovak Republic in 1939 brought other changes most notably the expulsion of many Czechs and the deportation or flight of the Jews during the Holocaust 14 116 In 1945 most of the Germans were evacuated After the restoration of Czechoslovakia the Benes decrees partly revoked in 1948 collectively punished ethnic German and Hungarian minorities by expropriation and deportation to Germany Austria and Hungary for their alleged collaborationism with Nazi Germany and Hungary against Czechoslovakia 66 117 118 The city thereby obtained its clearly Slovak character 66 Hundreds of citizens were expelled during the communist oppression of the 1950s with the aim of replacing reactionary people with the proletarian class 14 66 Since the 1950s the Slovaks have been the dominant ethnicity in the town making up around 90 of the city s population 14 Politics editSee also Mayor of Bratislava Boroughs and localities of Bratislava and International relations of Bratislava nbsp Grassalkovich Palace seat of the president of SlovakiaBratislava is the seat of the Slovak parliament presidency ministries supreme court Slovak Najvyssi sud and central bank It is the seat of the Bratislava Region and since 2002 also of the Bratislava Self Governing Region The city also has many foreign embassies and consulates nbsp The building of the National Council of the Slovak RepublicThe current local government Mestska samosprava 119 structure has been in place since 1990 120 It is composed of a mayor primator 121 a city board Mestska rada 122 a city council Mestske zastupiteľstvo 123 city commissions Komisie mestskeho zastupiteľstva 124 and a city magistrate s office Magistrat 125 nbsp Episcopal Summer Palace the seat of the government of SlovakiaThe mayor based at the Primate s Palace is the city s top executive officer and is elected to a four year term of office The current mayor of Bratislava is Matus Vallo who won the election held on October 29 2022 as an independent candidate The city council is the city s legislative body responsible for issues such as budget local ordinances city planning road maintenance education and culture 126 City Council edit The Bratislava City Council is the legislature of the City of Bratislava It has 45 members The Council usually convenes once a month and consists of 45 members elected to four year terms concurrent with the mayor s Many of the council s executive functions are carried out by the city commission at the council s direction 124 The city board is a 28 member body composed of the mayor and his deputies the borough mayors and up to ten city council members The board is an executive and supervisory arm of the city council and also serves in an advisory role to the mayor 122 Administration edit Administratively Bratislava is divided into five districts Bratislava I the city centre Bratislava II eastern parts Bratislava III north eastern parts Bratislava IV western and northern parts and Bratislava V southern parts on the right bank of the Danube including Petrzalka the most densely populated residential area in Central Europe 127 nbsp Primate s Palace at Primate s Square the seat of the city s mayorFor self governance purposes the city is divided into 17 boroughs each of which has its own mayor starosta and council The number of councillors in each depends on the size and population of the borough 128 Each of the boroughs coincides with the city s 20 cadastral areas except for two cases Nove Mesto is further divided into the Nove Mesto and Vinohrady cadastral areas and Ruzinov is divided into Ruzinov Nivy and Trnavka Further unofficial division recognizes additional quarters and localities Bratislava s territorial divisions District Borough MapBratislava I nbsp Stare Mesto nbsp Bratislava II nbsp Ruzinov nbsp Vrakuna nbsp Podunajske wbr BiskupiceBratislava III nbsp Nove Mesto nbsp Raca nbsp VajnoryBratislava IV nbsp Dubravka nbsp Karlova Ves nbsp Devin nbsp Devinska wbr Nova Ves nbsp Lamac nbsp Zahorska wbr BystricaBratislava V nbsp Petrzalka nbsp Jarovce nbsp Rusovce nbsp CunovoEconomy editMain article Economy of Bratislava See also List of tallest buildings in Bratislava nbsp National Bank of SlovakiaThe Bratislava Region is the wealthiest and most economically prosperous region in Slovakia despite being the smallest by area and having the third smallest population of the eight Slovak regions It accounts for about 26 of the Slovak GDP 129 According to GDP per capita Bratislava is the 19th richest region in the European Union in 2023 130 The unemployment rate in Bratislava was 2 38 in June 2023 131 The average monthly salary in the Bratislava region in 2023 was 1 983 132 nbsp Eurovea Tower the tallest building in SlovakiaMany governmental institutions and private companies have their headquarters in Bratislava More than 75 of Bratislava s population works in the service sector mainly composed of trade banking IT telecommunications and tourism 133 The Bratislava Stock Exchange BSSE the organiser of the public securities market was founded on 15 March 1991 134 Companies operating predominantly in Bratislava with the highest value added according to the 2018 Trend Top 200 ranking include the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant Slovnaft refinery MOL Eset software developer Asseco software company PPC Power producer of heat and steam and Trenkwalder personnel agency 135 Volkswagen Group took over and expanded the BAZ factory in 1991 and has since considerably expanded production beyond original Skoda Auto models 136 Currently timeframe 68 of production is focused on SUVs Audi Q7 VW Touareg as well as the body and under chassis of the Porsche Cayenne Since 2012 production has also included the Volkswagen up SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo 137 In recent years service and high tech oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava Many global companies including IBM Dell Lenovo AT amp T SAP Amazon Johnson Controls Swiss Re and Accenture have built outsourcing and service centres here 138 Reasons for the influx of multi national corporations include proximity to Western Europe skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities 139 Also Slovak IT companies including ESET Sygic and Pixel Federation have headquarters in Bratislava nbsp High rise buildings in Bratislava s business districtsOther large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include Slovak Telekom Orange Slovensko Slovenska sporiteľna Tatra banka Doprastav Hewlett Packard Slovakia Slovnaft Henkel Slovensko 140 Slovensky plynarensky priemysel Kraft Foods Slovakia Whirlpool Slovakia Zeleznice Slovenskej republiky AeroMobil and Tesco Stores Slovak Republic The Slovak economy s strong growth in the 2000s has led to a boom in the construction industry and several major projects have been completed or are planned in Bratislava 96 Areas attracting developers include the Danube riverfront where two major projects are already finished River Park in the Old Town and Eurovea near the Apollo Bridge 141 142 Other locations under development include the areas around the main railway and bus stations the former industrial zone near the Old Town and in the boroughs of Petrzalka Nove Mesto and Ruzinov 127 143 144 In 2010 the city had a balanced budget of 277 million with one fifth used for investment 145 Bratislava holds shares in 17 companies directly including the city s public transport company Dopravny podnik Bratislava the waste collection and disposal company named OLO Odvoz a likvidacia odpadu and the water utility 146 The city also manages municipal organisations such as the city police Mestska policia Bratislava City Museum and ZOO Bratislava 147 Tourism edit See also Tourism in Slovakia nbsp The Presporacik tourist train in the Old Town nbsp Man at Work Cumil an icon in the Old Town nbsp Group of tourists on a street In 2022 a total of 927 950 people came to visit Bratislava and spent there 1 719 409 nights 148 These were most commonly 65 foreigners Bratislava attracts predominantly visitors from the neighboring and nearby countries Czech Republic Germany Austria and Poland The top 5 is closed by visitors from the UK Bratislava offered 272 accommodation facilities with 10 338 rooms in 2022 148 A considerable share of visits is made by those who visit Bratislava for a single day but their exact number is not available Among other factors the growth of low cost airline flights to Bratislava led by Ryanair has led to conspicuous stag parties primarily from the UK While these are a boom to the city s tourism industry cultural differences and vandalism have led to concern by local officials 149 Reflecting the popularity of rowdy parties in Bratislava in the early to mid 2000s the city was a setting in the 2004 comedy film Eurotrip which was actually filmed in the city of Prague the Czech Republic Shopping edit nbsp Aupark shopping mall nbsp Interior of Eurovea shopping mall nbsp Central shopping mall Bratislava has eight major shopping centres Aupark Avion Shopping Park Bory Mall Central Eurovea Nivy Centrum Vivo formerly Polus City Center and Shopping Palace A month before Christmas the Main Square in Bratislava is illuminated by a Christmas tree and the Christmas market stalls are officially opened Around 100 booths are opened every year It is opened most of the day as well as in the evening Culture editBratislava is the cultural heart of Slovakia Owing to its historical multi cultural character local culture is influenced by various ethnic and religious groups including Germans Slovaks Hungarians and Jews 150 Bratislava enjoys numerous theatres museums galleries concert halls cinemas film clubs and foreign cultural institutions 151 Performing arts edit nbsp The old Slovak National Theatre building on Hviezdoslav Square nbsp The new building of Slovak National Theatre Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak National Theatre housed in two buildings 152 The first is a Neo Renaissance theatre building situated in the Old Town at the end of Hviezdoslav Square The new building opened to the public in 2007 is on the riverfront 97 152 The theatre has three ensembles opera ballet and drama 152 Smaller theatres include the New Scene Theatre the Astorka Korzo 90 Theatre the Arena Theatre the L S Studio the Naive Theatre of Radosina and the Bratislava Puppet Theatre nbsp Slovak PhilharmonicMusic in Bratislava flourished in the 18th century and was closely linked to Viennese musical life Mozart visited the town at the age of six Among other notable composers who visited or lived in the town were Haydn Liszt 153 Bartok and Beethoven It is also the birthplace of the composers Johann Nepomuk Hummel Erno Dohnanyi and Franz Schmidt Bratislava is home to both the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and the chamber orchestra Capella Istropolitana The city hosts several annual festivals such as the Bratislava Music Festival and Bratislava Jazz Days 154 During the summer various musical events take place as part of the Bratislava Cultural Summer at Bratislava Castle Apart from musical festivals it is possible to hear music ranging from underground to well known pop stars 155 Bratislava is home to two of Slovakia s national folk dance ensembles Lucnica and Slovensky ľudovy umelecky kolektiv SĽUK 156 157 158 Museums and galleries edit Main article Museums and galleries of Bratislava nbsp Slovak National Museum nbsp Slovak National Gallery nbsp The Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum museum of modern art at Danube river The Slovak National Museum Slovenske narodne muzeum founded in 1961 has its headquarters in Bratislava on the riverfront in the Old Town along with the Natural History Museum which is one of its subdivisions It is the largest cultural institution in Slovakia and manages 16 specialized museums in Bratislava and beyond 159 The Bratislava City Museum Muzeum mesta Bratislavy established in 1868 is the oldest museum in continuous operation in Slovakia 160 Its primary goal is to chronicle Bratislava s history in various forms from the earliest periods using historical and archaeological collections It offers permanent displays in eight specialised museums The Slovak National Gallery founded in 1948 offers the most extensive network of galleries in Slovakia Two displays in Bratislava are next to one another at Esterhazy Palace Esterhazyho palac and the Water Barracks Vodne kasarne on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town The Bratislava City Gallery founded in 1961 is the second largest Slovak gallery of its kind The gallery offers permanent displays at Palffy Palace Palffyho palac and Mirbach Palace Mirbachov palac in the Old Town 161 Danubiana Art Museum one of the youngest art museums in Europe is near Cunovo waterworks 162 Media edit See also Television in Slovakia List of radio stations in Slovakia and List of newspapers in Slovakia As the national capital Bratislava is home to national and many local media outlets Notable TV stations based in the city include Radio and Television of Slovakia Rozhlas a televizia Slovenska Markiza JOJ and TA3 RTVS radio s headquarters has its seat in the centre and many Slovak commercial radio stations are based in the city National newspapers based in Bratislava include SME Pravda Novy cas Hospodarske noviny and the English language The Slovak Spectator Two news agencies are headquartered there the News Agency of the Slovak Republic TASR Tlacova agentura Slovenskej republiky and the Slovak News Agency SITA Slovenska tlacova agentura Sport editMain article Sport in Bratislava nbsp National football stadium nbsp Stadion Pasienky nbsp Ondrej Nepela Arena ice hockey and mixed use arena Various sports and sports teams have a long tradition in Bratislava with many teams and individuals competing in Slovak and international leagues and competitions Football is currently represented by the only club playing in the top Slovak football league the Fortuna Liga SK Slovan Bratislava founded in 1919 has its home ground at the Tehelne pole stadium SK Slovan is the most successful football club in Slovak history being the only club from the former Czechoslovakia to win the European football competition the Cup Winners Cup in 1969 163 FC Petrzalka akademia is the oldest of Bratislava s football clubs founded in 1898 and is based at Stadium FC Petrzalka 1898 in Petrzalka formerly at Pasienky in Nove Mesto and Stadion Petrzalka in Petrzalka They are currently the only Slovak team to win at least one match in the UEFA Champions League group stage with a 5 0 win over Celtic FC in the qualifying round being the most well known alongside a 3 2 win over FC Porto Before then FC Kosice in the 1997 98 season lost all six matches despite being the first Slovak side since independence to play in the competition In 2010 Artmedia were relegated from the Corgon Liga under their new name of MFK Petrzalka finishing 12th and bottom FC Petrzalka akademia currently competes in 5 liga after bankruptcy in summer 2014 Another known club from the city is FK Inter Bratislava Founded in 1945 they have their home ground at Stadium SKP Inter Dubravka in Dubravka formerly at Stadion Pasienky and currently plays in the 3 liga There are many more clubs with long tradition and successful history despite the lack of success in last years e g LP Domino Bratislava currently playing in 4 liga FK Raca Bratislava competing in the 3 liga as well as Inter FK SKP Inter Dubravka Bratislava following SKP Devin successful team from the 1990s and partially following the original Inter original Inter bankrupted in 2009 sold the Corgon Liga license to FK Senica and legally merged with FC SKP Dubravka current Inter has taken over the tradition name colours fans etc but legally is no successor of the original Inter FC Tatran Devin the club that was successful mostly at youth level and merged with SKP Bratislava in 1995 MSK Iskra Petrzalka playing under the name SK Iskra Matadorfix Bratislava in the former 1st League today 2nd in 1997 98 Bratislava is home to three winter sports arenas Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium V Dzurilla Winter Sports Stadium and Dubravka Winter Sports Stadium The HC Slovan Bratislava ice hockey team has represented Bratislava from the 2012 13 season in the Kontinental Hockey League Slovnaft Arena a part of Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium is home to HC Slovan The Ice Hockey World Championships in 1959 and 1992 were played in Bratislava and the 2011 World Championship were held in Bratislava and Kosice for which a new arena was built 164 The city also played host to the World Championship in 2019 The Cunovo Water Sports Centre is a whitewater slalom and rafting area close to the Gabcikovo dam It hosts several international and national canoe and kayak competitions annually In 1966 Bratislava named its new multi sports stadium after tennis player Ladislav Hecht 165 166 The National Tennis Centre which includes Aegon Arena hosts various cultural sporting and social events Several Davis Cup matches have been played there including the 2005 Davis Cup final The city is represented in the top Slovak leagues in women s and men s basketball women s handball and volleyball and men s water polo The Devin Bratislava National run is the oldest athletic event in Slovakia 167 and the Bratislava City Marathon has been held annually since 2006 A race track is located in Petrzalka where horse racing and dog racing events and dog shows are held regularly Bratislava is also the centre of rugby union in Slovakia Education and science edit nbsp Universitas Istropolitana building nbsp Comenius University headquarters at Safarikovo namestie The first university in Bratislava in the Kingdom of Hungary and also in the territory of present day Slovakia was Universitas Istropolitana founded in 1465 by King Matthias Corvinus It was closed in 1490 after his death 168 Bratislava is the seat of the largest university Comenius University 27 771 students 169 the largest technical university Slovak University of Technology 18 473 students 170 and the oldest art schools the Academy of Performing Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Slovakia Other institutions of tertiary education are the public University of Economics and the first private college in Slovakia City University of Seattle 171 In total about 56 000 students attend university in Bratislava 172 There are 65 public primary schools nine private primary schools and ten religious primary schools 173 Overall they enroll 25 821 pupils 173 The city s system of secondary education some middle schools and all high schools consists of 39 gymnasia with 16 048 students 174 37 specialized high schools with 10 373 students 175 and 27 vocational schools with 8 863 students data as of 2007 update 176 177 The Slovak Academy of Sciences is also based in Bratislava However the city is one of the few European capitals to have neither an observatory nor a planetarium The nearest observatory is in Modra 30 kilometres 19 mi away and the nearest planetarium is in Hlohovec 70 kilometres 43 mi away Transport editMain articles Transport in Bratislava and Public Transport in Bratislava See also List of bridges in Bratislava city nbsp Nivy is a mixed use complex with underground international bus station opened in 2021 nbsp Terminal building at Bratislava Airport BTS nbsp Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport located 49 kilometres 30 4 mi west of the city centre The geographical position of Bratislava in Central Europe has long made it a natural crossroads for international trade traffic 178 Public transport in Bratislava is managed by Dopravny podnik Bratislava a city owned company The transport system is known as Mestska hromadna doprava MHD Municipal Mass Transit and employs buses trams and trolleybuses 179 Most of the Bratislava public transport is coated in a typical color combination of red and black Bratislava is also part of an integrated system IDS BK connecting city public transport with other transport companies in the Bratislava region Traveling with a single ticket is possible throughout the system network both in Bratislava and to the nearby villages and cities including 3 other districts of Senec Malacky and Pezinok As a rail hub the city has direct connections to Austria Hungary the Czech Republic Poland Germany Croatia Slovenia and the rest of Slovakia Bratislava Petrzalka railway station and Bratislava Main station are the principal railway stations Daily trains and buses from Bratislava to Vienna run multiple times every hour with the Wien Hbf train station serving Bratislava as well with more connections throughout Europe opening possibilities for a travel to Italy and France with a quick change of trains in Vienna The main bus station Autobusova stanica or Autobusova stanica Nivy is located at Mlynske Nivy east of the city centre and offers both bus connections to cities in Slovakia and international bus lines A new bus station attached to a shopping mall administration centre and Bratislava s tallest skyscraper Nivy Tower was opened on the 30th of September 2021 180 The bus station lies underground and its design was inspired by airport terminals The waiting area offers enough space and comfort to wait for the bus The motorway system provides direct access to Brno in the Czech Republic Vienna in Austria Budapest in Hungary Trnava and other points in Slovakia The A6 motorway between Bratislava and Vienna was opened in November 2007 181 The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia The port provides access to the Black Sea via the Danube and to the North Sea through the Rhine Main Danube Canal Additionally tourist lines operate from Bratislava s passenger port including routes to Devin Vienna and elsewhere In Bratislava there are currently six bridges standing over the Danube ordered by the flow of the river Most Lafranconi Lafranconi Bridge Most SNP Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising previously called Novy most or New bridge with the famous UFO Tower Stary most The Old Bridge Most Apollo Apollo Bridge Pristavny most The Harbor Bridge and Luzny most The Floodplain bridge Bratislava s M R Stefanik Airport is the main international airport in Slovakia The airport is located 9 kilometres 5 6 mi north east of the city centre with fast connections served by the city public transport It serves civil and governmental scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights The current runways support the landing for all common types of aircraft It served 2 024 000 passengers in 2007 182 Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport located 49 kilometres 30 4 mi west of the city centre It is common for Bratislava residents to use the Vienna airport often as it offers more variety and can be reached under 60 minutes from Bratislava with a car nbsp Skoda 30 T tram in Bratislava nbsp Twin City Liner express boat on the Danube connecting Bratislava with Vienna nbsp A typical red bus in BratislavaInternational relations edit nbsp Paparazzi statue in Bratislava s Old TownSee also List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia Twin towns sister cities edit Bratislava is twinned with nbsp Brno Czech Republic 183 nbsp Szekesfehervar Hungary 183 nbsp Krakow Poland 183 nbsp Warsaw Poland 183 nbsp Perugia Italy 1962 183 nbsp Ljubljana Slovenia 1967 183 nbsp Yerevan Armenia 2001 184 nbsp Larnaca Cyprus 1989 184 nbsp Turku Finland 1976 184 nbsp Bremen Germany 1989 184 nbsp Alexandria Egypt 184 nbsp Kyiv Ukraine 183 nbsp Cleveland United States 184 Numbers in parentheses list the year of twinning The first agreement was signed with the city of Perugia in Italy on 18 July 1962 Notable people editMain article List of people from Bratislava Honorary citizens edit People who have received the honorary citizenship of Bratislava are Date Name Notes4 September 1990 Helmut Zilk Mayor of Vienna24 September 1997 Edita Gruberova Sopranist19 November 2009 Vaclav Havel 1936 2011 President of Czechoslovakia 1989 1992 and President of the Czech Republic 1993 2003 185 26 September 2011 Major General Roy Martin Umbarger United States Army Officer 186 28 October 2014 Karel Gott Czech singer 187 19 December 2020 John Paul II Catholic Pope 188 Image gallery edit nbsp Main entrance of the Bratislava Castle nbsp Hviezdoslav Square nbsp Primate s Square nbsp The Old Town Hall the oldest city hall in the country nbsp Michael s Gate nbsp Laurinc Gate nbsp Reformed church nbsp Church of Saint Stephen nbsp Trinitarian Church nbsp The Old Town of Bratislava nbsp Streets of the Old Town nbsp Bratislava Old Town nbsp The Rococo style House of the Good Shepherd home to the Museum of Clocks nbsp Laurinska Street nbsp Stara Trznica Market Hall the oldest indoor market in Bratislava nbsp Einsteinova street nbsp Danube promenade nbsp Embankment nbsp Danube river and the Slovak National Uprising Bridge nbsp Apollo Bridge nbsp VIVO Shopping Center nbsp Slovak Radio headquarters building nbsp CityShuttle train connects Bratislava with Austria s capital Vienna nbsp Refinery of Slovnaft in Bratislava nbsp Port of Bratislava nbsp Map of Bratislava in city centre nbsp Manhole cover in BratislavaSee also editList of municipalities and towns in Slovakia List of streets in Bratislava List of fountains in BratislavaPortals nbsp Europe nbsp Slovakia nbsp European UnionNotes edit Bratislava finds census results as positive Pravda sk Retrieved December 31 2021 EU regions by GDP Eurostat Wells John C 2008 Longman Pronunciation Dictionary 3rd ed Longman ISBN 978 1 4058 8118 0 Roach Peter 2011 Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary 18th ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 15253 2 Market Locator s analysis of the real number of Bratislava s inhabitants Dennik SME May 26 2017 Retrieved June 29 2020 Dominic Swire 2006 Bratislava Blast Finance New Europe Archived from the original on December 10 2006 Retrieved May 8 2007 Brochure Culture and Attractions City of Bratislava 2006 Archived from the original PDF on March 7 2007 Retrieved April 25 2007 Gruber Ruth E March 10 1991 Charm and Concrete in Bratislava The New York Times Retrieved July 27 2008 Brochure Welcome to Bratislava City of Bratislava 2006 Archived from the original PDF on March 5 2007 Retrieved April 25 2007 Bratislava je treti najbohatsi region unie Ako je mozne ze predbehla Londyn ci Pariz Finweb hnonline sk March 2017 Retrieved December 15 2017 Bratislava capital city of Slovakia versus other regions of Slovak Republic Laboureconomics wordpress com April 29 2013 Retrieved December 15 2017 Bratislava reports increase in visitors The Slovak Spectator December 6 2016 Retrieved January 9 2019 Bugge Peter March 27 2009 The Making of a Slovak City The 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obcanmi Bratislavy www obecne noviny sk in Slovak Retrieved August 10 2023 References editHorvath V Lehotska D Pleva J et al eds 1979 Dejiny Bratislavy History of Bratislava in Slovak 2nd ed Bratislava Slovakia a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Janota Igor 2006 Bratislavske rarity Rarities of Bratislava in Slovak 1st ed Bratislava Slovakia Vydavateľstvo PT ISBN 80 89218 19 9 Kovac Dusan 2006 Bratislava 1939 1945 Mier a vojna v meste Bratislava 1939 1945 Peace and war in the town in Slovak 1st ed Bratislava Slovakia Vydavateľstvo PT ISBN 80 89218 29 6 Kovac Dusan et al 1998 Kronika Slovenska 1 Chronicle of Slovakia 1 in Slovak 1st ed Bratislava Slovakia Fortuna Print ISBN 80 7153 174 X Kovac Dusan et al 1999 Kronika Slovenska 2 Chronicle of Slovakia 2 in Slovak 1st ed Bratislava Slovakia Fortuna Print ISBN 80 88980 08 9 Lacika Jan 2000 Bratislava Visiting Slovakia 1st ed Bratislava Slovakia DAJAMA ISBN 80 88975 16 6 Spiesz Anton 2001 Bratislava v stredoveku Bratislava in the Middle Ages in Slovak 1st ed Bratislava Slovakia Perfekt ISBN 80 8046 145 7 Varga Erzsebet 1995 Pozsony in Hungarian 1st ed Pozsony Madach Posonium ISBN 80 7089 245 5 Jankovics Marcell 2000 Husz esztendo Pozsonyban Twenty years in Bratislava in Hungarian 2nd ed Pozsony Mery Ratio ISBN 80 88837 34 0 Genealogical resources edit The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive Statny Archiv in Bratislava Slovakia Roman Catholic church records births marriages deaths 1601 1897 parish A Lutheran church records births marriages deaths 1606 1919 parish A External links editBratislava at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Definitions from Wiktionary nbsp Media from Commons nbsp News from Wikinews nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Texts from Wikisource nbsp Textbooks from Wikibooks nbsp Resources from Wikiversity nbsp Travel information from Wikivoyage Official sites edit Official website of the City of Bratislava Official Tourism and Travel Guide to Bratislava Official Slovak National Tourism PortalTourism and living information edit Public urban transport in Bratislava Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bratislava amp oldid 1207844797, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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